Appreciation

My husband came home last night and came in the kitchen while I was cooking. He said he had thought about stopping and getting me flowers on the way home, but he didn't. I was not hurt, but flattered. Just that he thought about me. Then later in the evening, he told me he appreciated all that I do. He doesn't often do either of those and he made me feel good last night. I know he appreciates all that I do, but he rarely says that. Of course, I don't know if I tell him how much I appreciate what he does often. I do make a point to the girls and often in front of him, how lucky we are that he provides well for our family. I was thinking about the quote " behind every successful man is a good woman." the other night. I was thinking if I was doing the right kind of things to help my husband succeed. I take care of a lot around the house so that he doesn't have to worry about it. I try to listen when he tells me about work (sometimes it is not interesting). I try to make suggestions for changing or doing things better without nagging. Sometimes I end up making him feel like a failure when I do this though. I don't mean to do this. He just does things differently than I would and I think my way is better so this translates into he is wrong. I consider myself fairly organized and I like to plan everything out and he is the opposite of this. I think this is where a lot of his problems come from, but I also think that no matter how much I tell him to plan and prioritize, it is just not his way. Despite all his flaws, I hope he knows that I do truly love him and wouldn't want to live without him. I hope he feels the same about me.

On another note, a friend of mine had her 1st baby yesterday. I don't know all the details yet, but know she ended up with a c-section. This is my soapbox. I saw her about a month ago at her shower (she lives out of town) and spoke with her about her birth plans. She did not take a childbirth class or hire a doula, yet she did wish to have the baby naturally. I offered my services for free if she wanted. I later told my mom that I saw a c-section and that is what happened. As I said, I don't know the details, but I doubt that the section was truly needed as very few are. I could find out I'm wrong. I am glad that both mom and baby came out fine, but I know how important a birth can be and I also know the physical pain of a c-section. I also know that she will probably be condemned to "once a c-section, always a c-section". To some women, this is a small matter, but not to me. This is why I took my births out of the hospital.