People let me tell you bout my best friend.....

Remember that old show that started with that song. Right now I can't remember what the name of it was, but that is not important. I wanted to write about my best friend, in honor of father's day. I was so busy honoring him yesterday that I didn't have time to write. Who am I speaking of? Well, my hubby, that's who!

Now my hubby is not perfect. He started off yesterday by being really crabby! Sometimes things happen at work, and being the boss he gets called, and then he is not in a good mood. The last few weeks have been very stressful due to the swine flu. Pray for all who work in the health care field. You have no idea what they see and deal with on a daily basis. I have the utmost respect, especially for nurses and those who work in the emergency room.

At any rate, despite his imperfections, that fact that he often overlooks my imperfections makes him a saint. I married a good guy. He is the smartest man I know. I mean really smart. The kind of guy you would want to end up in the cash cab in NYC with. Cause you could win big money with him!!! He knows something about everything, and sometimes more. I often wonder how he remembers all this stuff. I sometimes can't even remember what I ate for lunch the day before, much less what century St. Francis was born in. He has all of these things stored in his brain. Amazing.

He's also a big softy. Our kids tease him, because quite often when we are watching "move that bus", he has tears in his eyes, sniffing away like the rest of us. He likes to joke with me that McDonald's commercials can make me cry, but human interest stories can send my husband for the box of tissues. He won't admit it. "I have dust in my eye". But I am glad that our boys see that it is okay for a man to be a softy.

He is very faithful. To me, to his family, his work and our religious community. He has a great love for our Lord and especially the Catholic Church. I have learned so much about our faith through him. Together we try very hard to live out our vocations according to the teachings of our church and together we decided to raise a large family. What gets us through is his sense of humor. He is the funniest man I know. And when I am tired and emotional, he is at his best! If I have had a roller coaster of a day, with a lot of crying, he can make me laugh so hard at the end of it. He knows when I need a good hearty laugh.

As a father, he is irreplaceable. In our work at the mission we see very few fathers. Lots of mother's raising children on their own. The thing that bothers me many times is the disrespect there is for fathers there. But I guess it is understandable. Moms are abandoned every day with their children, left to fend for themselves. Often times in this day of abortion, a man thinks he doesn't have to support his children because the woman should have an abortion. Yeah, that is choice at its best! What a choice, what a lie. So my hubby is different there. But when I look at the men in that community who are trying to be good husbands and good fathers, my hubby is a great example for them. They can identify with him, and I feel like the men who come to our church can all look at each other and stand together in strength. There are so few of them, they need that.

My husband is the provider. He is my strength. He supports my staying home to take care of our children, and works hard to provide for us. He works very hard. So we can send our older children to good Catholic high schools. So we can have our own home, and food on the table. Often times cooking dinner, because honestly ladies, he is a better cook than I am. I am good at the basics, but he can make a feast from canned goods in our pantry. I am the baker. He is a chef.

He is just plain fun. And after twenty years of marriage, and nine babies, he still thinks I am the most beautiful, sexy woman he has ever met. Stretch marks and all!!! He is a keeper. We love to sneak off as much as we can to have dinner together, or just an ice cream at Coldstone Creamery. Sometimes we talk. Sometimes we sit in silence and watch people. Not because we don't have anything to say, but because we are comfortable in each other's silence. We are two that have become one.

I made a good choice in husband and father of my children. Or maybe I need to say, "Thank You God. For choosing the best partner in life for me". It had to be God, my choices in men were not so good before Dave. In fact they were quite awful, but that is for another time.

Happy Father's Day to my hubby, my best friend. I love you.