somehow, he is patient with me.

yesterday was a long day for that wonderful husband of mine.  he drove his bro-toss to the airport, went to a bajillion meetings, and sat through three. hours. of. church. {not to mention the four-and-a-half hour long test he took on saturday, or the months of sleep deprivation he endured while studying for it....}  he was one tired guy.  so it wasn't surprising when during sacrament meeting he started snoring next to me.  i mean really, can you blame him?

and then, as i was sitting there watching that incredibly handsome ginger be carried off into sleep-deprivation-church-sleeping bliss, i thought, this man has all the patience in the world.  

he is patient with his job, his frustrating boring lonely number-crunching desk-sitting job.  he is patient while studying for his time-consuming fun-sucking energy-stealing practically inconceivable tests.  he is patient with his days, never expecting too much of the day but always willing to make the most of it when an opportunity comes his way.  he is patient with family, friends, and even strangers. {as i stomp down the aisles in costco in a red-faced rampage of frustration with customers and sample eaters alike, he is smiling and happy and pleasant as can be!}  he is patient with life.  and most of all, he is patient with me.  his neuroticly-driven over-bearing-obsessive-passionate perfectionista of a wife.  who rants about trivial things such as the state of the house, or about the outcome of her latest tater-tot casserole.  

and when i'm acting like a total diva, {as is quite often the case} he just looks at me with a sympathetic, all-knowing smile and i can read behind his eyes a kind of devotion, love, and care that makes me think, what did i ever do to deserve this?  what did i ever do to deserve him?  this amazingly compassionate man who is shy among crowds but hilarious beyond belief.  who loves star wars and lord of the rings, but is always willing to watch a chick-flick if i ask.  who keeps me in check when i'm a diva, but who still tells me i'm the best thing that has ever happened to him.  this man who, even after a long stressful day, will ask me with colossal patience, what can i do for you?  

and as we say goodnight, he muses,  you're my favorite.  

oh, how i love you.