Friday, October 17, 2008

One in a million

My husband is the best man in the world. I can say that without the slightest bit of irony. He really is. Sometimes I don't treat him like he is, but he always treats me like I treat him like he is. And I love him. Things have been rough at the Klein house for a while now. I mentioned in my last post that we have sore backs, knees, hips, feet, etc. because Coen requires a great deal of intervention to get to sleep. Pat is never above taking over with our littlest guy as soon as he walks in the door at the end of a long workday, either. He washes his hands and immediately takes him. Every day. His nice shirts always end up smelling like baby puke, but he's not above that. And I'm not at all above allowing him to hold him for hours on end either. I should be, but I'm not. Sometimes in the middle of the night, after I nurse him, Coen won't go back to sleep. Pat gets up and takes over. He never complains. Sometimes he's in there with him for hours, jiggling him the whole time. So there are more deposits of baby puke racked up during the midnight shift. And still he leaves for work with a smile on his face and a kiss for all of us on the way out. He worries about me during the day when I'm home alone and I know he wants to be here to help. He checks up on me. He rarely goes anywhere without us because he knows how much we miss him and how the together time seems so rare and precious, even when I give him a hard time for every little thing because I'm just being me.

Yesterday was my birthday. Pat surprised me by taking the day off work. He took over most of the Coen duties except when it was time to nurse him. Fintan and I went out and picked up doughnuts and a pumpkin spice latte, and ice water, and headed to the park in the morning. Then when Fintan went down for his nap, and after I nursed Coen, I got to leave the house to do whatever I wanted. I got a haircut. And I went to the grocery store and the drug store and the library all by myself. I enjoyed every moment of it.

Then we all went to dinner as a family and Pat held Coen so I could eat and then I nursed Coen so he could eat. I had a wonderful day. I do realize how lucky I am, even if I sometimes lose sight of it and forget to let him know. I'm really going to do my best to stop being so "me" and try my darnedest to treat him like he treats me like I treat him. He so deserves it.

I love you, Pat! More than you know.

12 comments:

The Carrels said...

Happy Birthday Alina! :)

Dawn said...

Pat is such a great guy, and it is wonderful that you recognize that and appreciate him!

By the way do you think if we have our husbands hang out together more often some of Pat will rub off on Brian???

Leslie said...

What a sweet post! Happy birthday, Alina! Pat sounds so wonderful and I am glad you had such a perfect day.

Emily said...

How incredibly sweet! Pat seems like such a wonderful guy, Alina. You sure picked a great one!

Pat, you rock. Alina is a queen, so it is great of you to recognize that. Even queens get grumpy and testy at times, but deep down royalty is royalty. Of course, that makes you the king. ;)

Henry Parents said...

Hooray for awesome husbands!! That's so sweet that he took the day off work, it sounds like you had a great day. And you deserve a great day.

I would have never guessed how nice it was to go shopping alone, pre-baby. Now that I am a mom, shopping at Target, alone = the holy grail :) And is totally birthday-appropriate activity.

So, happy (late) birthday!! Next time you want to hit the Starbucks, call me. Henry loves going, and the pumpkin spiced latte is awesome (and free on Mondays if you still have your student ID).

Jacque said...

Happy Birthday, and congrats on such a great husband!

lalove said...

Happy birthday sister!

I cannot believe that you were keeping this blog a secret... or maybe I'm out of the loop. I found it through Tara's and I have been catching up. I want more videos!

Aren't Pat's the best?!

Love, your sister L
(remember me?)

Unknown said...

Pat is a great one, and Alina, you totally deserve greatness! :)

BTW, I forgot to tell you last night I thought your hair looked very pretty!

SaRaH said...

Happy Birthday, Alina! You and Pat are both amazing and deserve the best. I just feel all gushy thinking of your beautiful family.

Lolita Breckenridge said...

Happy Birthday, Alina! Greatness begets greatness - and such a sweet post.

Doesn't love a wall said...

A gREAT post!! I know I don't appreciate my man enough....

Alina Klein said...

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and nice hubby comments, ladies! :) And sorry for keeping the blog "secret", Lalove. I would have mentioned it sooner or later. :)