I am participating in a 30 day marriage challenge. Each day there are prompts for the day. Some are simple for me (give him three hugs today), others are harder (go a whole day without correcting him). Yesterday the challenge was to imagine how it feels to be in his shoes. I am overwhelmed at how much he deals with each day and still is able to keep a smile on his face.
Jim has a fairly demanding job...he is a store manager. Not only does he have to deal with his staff, but he has to deal with the public all day. Jim is great at dealing with people. He is able to work with all sorts of people and he rarely lets them get under his skin. One of his motto's is "Never let them see you sweat". He treats people fairly, the way that he wants to be treated.
I am not easy to live with....I know this about myself, but Jim seems to enjoy living with me. I am moody, I need to be alone, loud eating makes me cringe, and that is just what I can think of quickly. And Jim loves me in spite of all of this. He arranges his schedule so that he is able to spend time with me. Our marriage is important to him and he works on showing me that he values our marriage.
Jim is a great father to his children. No, he wasn't' able to be at every ball game that the boys were in, but if he wasn't at work, he was there. The boys know that Jim loves them, always, no matter what. He isn't afraid to say that he loves them. He fixes Delainey's hair in the mornings and plays Pirate Daddy at bedtime. He worries about the choices that all of his children make, but supports them in any way that he can.
Not only is Jim dealing with me and my moods on a daily basis, but his parents now live with us. It is a learning process for all of us. Jim is seeing his parents as they are aging and it is hard. He is having to balance his time even more now.
Jim is one of the most modest men that I know. If he reads this, he will say that it is not a big deal, it's just what he does. But he does it well. I am blessed that I am able to walk along side him each day.
