Two real world examples

First example:

On the best day, Party City is not my favorite destination.  Near Halloween, it is one of Dante's circles of hell.

I purely hate that place.

I don't like the discordant music, the promiscuous costumes for women (because naturally every woman wants to dress as some incarnation of a prostitute for Halloween), the wicked and evil and dark and ugly.

I don't like it.

I don't like the aloof and ineffective employees that know that you are there because you have to be there so they don't need to keep you with anything approximating customer service.

Why do I go?

Because of him.

He wanted a costume.  We went to Party City.  He found one he liked, a transformer something or other.  I assured him the biggest size they had wouldn't fit.  He assured me it would.  In order to escape the horrible place that is Party City, I finally gave up and gave in and bought the too small costume.

Guess what?  He tried it on when we got home and it was too small.

This is a sad tale but it gets better.

As I contemplated going back to Party City or any of the other stores that sell costumes this time of year, I rebelled and my authentic self finally made herself heard.

I told Mark that I would cut him a deal.  I said, "I'll return this costume and buy you a Lego set if you can come up with a costume from things we already own."

He said he'd get back to me.

After a few minutes he said, "You've got yourself a deal," and held out his hand to shake mine.

He told Gavin on the phone that he's going to be Steve for Halloween.  I have no idea who Steve is but as long as I don't have to darken the door of a costume store again, I'm all for Steve.

Example 2:

Adam called me on his way home and invited me to go to our nephew's football game.  I would have loved to go but I had so very much to do.  Just thinking about it made me feel like hyperventilating and made my earlier trip to the costume store doubly frustrating.

Adam, that wise and beloved man, told me to do the things that only I could do.  Then, because he knows me, he added, "I don't mean the things that you think only you can do, I mean the things that really truly only you can do."

I said OK.

He said he and our children would help me do the rest of the things in the evening.

I felt like I could breathe again.  There are some things that only I can do.  He reminded me what was important.  He reminded me to ask for help. (And he brought me home flowers.)

I love that guy.