My husband is the fun parent. I realized this a long time ago, but recently, I was doing dishes when I heard a lot of commotion coming from the bathtub. I sighed as I stopped what I was doing to go help my husband, who I assumed was having a hard time managing all the hair that has to be washed in our house (girl dad problems). As I went up the stairs and got closer to the bathroom, I realized it wasn’t yelling and arguing I heard — it was laughter. I breathed another sigh of relief and turned around to head back to my post in the kitchen.
As I finished my chore, a time in which I do my best thinking, I started thinking about how much my husband makes my girls laugh. He is always down to play. I often feel like I am thinking about the next thing that needs to be done. Get home, cook dinner, do baths, brush teeth, pick out clothes. While I do all that, I am also thinking about a million other things: “Do they need anything for school tomorrow,?” “Did I pay the water bill?,” “Did I send that email for work?,” “Did I respond to that text message?” My mind is constantly going and going and a lot of times, I feel like there is not much left to give of myself at the end of the day.
But my husband?
He comes in after his equally exhausting day, and talks in a funny accent while he gives baths. He sets up gymnastics mats for a full-blown obstacle course that ends in a yoga session. When I ask why my curtains are messed up, he responds with, “Oh, I think that happened during hide and seek.” He plays Candy Land (even the princess version). He stops on the way to school to get surprise pink sprinkle doughnuts or pulls into the gas station and asks what flavor ice cream they want. He is really good at being their favorite.
Overthinking is what I do best.
So, as my mind wandered while I was (still) washing dishes, I thought about how this is my husband’s time to shine. I am really good at getting things done and making sure everyone is taken care of, and he is really good at being what they need right now, while all that other stuff gets done. I often join in on the fun. I play my fair share of Candy Land and watch all their obstacle course performances…I just don’t always initiate them.
But my time is coming.
There is going to come a day in which they don’t need him to give them baths and keep them entertained. They’ll move on from Candy Land, onto homework and sleepovers. Hide and seek will be replaced with sports and proms. The time is coming where they will need me a little more. Not because my husband won’t be good at giving advice or being a listening ear, but because they’ll just need their mom. They’ll need me to teach them how I make that recipe or how to curl their hair. They’ll need my advice on whether I like their dress or their friends. They’ll want to go shopping and get their nails done.
So right now, I’ll be patient. I’ll continue checking things off my list and hearing about the slushies daddy said they can have tomorrow if they are good. I’ll keep rolling my eyes when they get carried up the stairs on their daddy’s back. I’ll keep picking up the game pieces and cleaning up the obstacle course.
