4 Things I Learned From My Husband

I’ve been a mom three and a half years now. Over four, if you count when I was pregnant. As such, I would like to think of myself an expert on literally ALL things life related. I pride myself on always knowing the weather 10 days in advance, I organize the family schedule, and I know exactly which cartoon character is my kid’s favorite on any given day.

So imagine my surprise, when in all my expertness, I realized my husband had a few nuggets of wisdom of his own. At the risk of giving him an ego, I’ll share just a few:

Asking For Recognition

We all make fun of husbands for asking for praise because they unloaded the dishwasher once three weeks ago. And they never seem to let us forget about it. Big deal, we unload the dishwasher all the time, and there is no ticker tape parade for us. But just maybe, he is on to something.

As mamas – where even the littlest accomplishments feel like monumental tasks – maybe we should pat ourselves on the back a little more. So next time I try a new recipe at dinner, clean the house, or shave my legs, you better believe I’m going to tell everyone I come into contact with so they can fully acknowledge what a rockstar I am. Because let’s be honest, keeping one (or more) tiny human alive and getting anything done is a major accomplishment worth celebrating.

Bonus: If you tell me your accomplishments, I promise to throw confetti in your face and tell you how awesome you are too. *Disclaimer: Confetti available on a first come, first served basis.

It’s Ok To Get Messy Once In Awhile

I like the house clean. It stresses me out when more than three things are out of place. Which means I really do follow the kids around half the day and pick up everything behind them. Sometimes while they are still playing with it. Seriously. Sorry, kids. Anyway, my husband just let’s them make a huge mess and everyone cleans up at the end of the day. I would love to put his strategy into practice so that the kids can learn to clean up after themselves. However, I really hate messes so…. we will have to work up to that one.

Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff

This might go with the above. I always have to clean the house before a trip. I have to get the dog groomed, organize the linen closet, do laundry, take the kids to the doctor. Who knows why. Everything has to be perfect. My husband just packs a suitcase and goes. Sure, I like coming home to a clean house, but would it really be the end of the world if we took a trip without having the fridge arranged alphabetically before we left? Let’s be honest: it’s never arranged like that anyway. Life is stressful enough, so why create artificial stress when there doesn’t have to be?

Zone Out When You Need To

I imagine my husband spends his days at work taking leisurely lunches and looking at Twitter, but I’m sure he does actual work in there too. And when he gets home, he is usually very present with the kids. But he does occasionally steal a moment of silence to check out on his phone. While the kids are awake. I know what you are thinking. Trust me, I thought it too. But maybe those 5 minutes recharge him to be a more present, patient parent. So maybe instead of getting annoyed that I can’t take 5 minutes for myself all day, I should learn that the world will not come to an end if I just excuse myself and catch up on e-mails, take a shower, or scroll through Facebook for a few minutes while he has the kids. And maybe everyone would be a little happier.

So… good for me for recognizing what life techniques I can steal from my husband. I will resume being the all-knowing one in the house now. I expect a ticker tape parade any minute now.