Grateful Friday

Yesterday as I was changing the calendar to February, I changed my chalkboard too.

February + Valentine's Day made me start thinking about Adam.

While I was mopping the kitchen floor, I was pondering (mopping = good time for pondering) just what it is about Adam.  Whenever he's taken a personality test, he lands right in the middle.  He's hard to define.

Is he defined by his wit?

He makes me laugh everyday.  Granted, it isn't hard to make me laugh.  Just yesterday Mark said, "It's so easy to make you laugh.  If there was a class on making people laugh, you would be the mid-term for the first quarter."

Still.  Even though I'm easily amused, Adam is funny.

Is he defined by his smarts?

He's super smart.  He's expanded my awareness of more things than I can count.  He challenges us to think about other sides of issues.  He always has.

Is he defined by his dad-ness?

Awhile ago Emma told him he was being Extra when he made one of his Dad Jokes.  He is thoroughly a dad and it makes me love him more and more.  He's always been a very hands on dad.  (Last weekend we watched a family video of Braeden's first Christmas and Adam's parents were on the floor with the babies the whole time and I was reminded of where Adam comes from.  I have his good parents to thank not only for him but for illustrating hands on involvement to him.)  He is the one that patiently made our boys try again when they were being surly about some chore.  He is the one that can occasionally talk Emma into something.  He is the one who helped with church talks and scout stuff.  He's still the one Braeden wants to look over his papers.  (As we all know Adam = excellent writer.)

Is he defined by his strength in adversity?

I've seen Adam knocked flat but he intentionally works to not be bitter, to be steady, to not let whatever has happened define him or distract from his role as husband and father.  There have been times when we both were knocked flat and he was still the strong one.  Always.

Is he defined by his spontaneity?

One night we had finished a British cooking show (which is one of the best TV genres in the world) and they had made a lemon meringue pie.  Mark said he had never had a lemon meringue pie.  "What?!?" Adam said.  "Get in the car, we're going to Kneaders."

It was late on a school night and Mark and I were both in our pajamas but we got in the car and he drove to Kneaders which was still open, but barely.  Mark and I stayed in the car, listening to a podcast about succession in U.S. presidents because that is the kind of stuff Adam listens to and Adam went in for the pie.  They didn't have any but he came back with a little key lime pie and a small lemon cake.  He handed us forks and told us to eat them on the way home, splitting each dessert.

(If you know the roads in Pleasant Grove, you know it takes a certain level of bravery to eat while driving.)

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I ran out of floor to mop before I came up with the answer of just what it is about Adam.   Whatever the answer, I'm grateful every day that he's mine.