I Hate When My Spouse...

you filled in the blank, didn't you?

It's easy to do.   Critique.   Believe that your complaining, nagging, or hints will improve the situation.   Fix the flaw.  Heal the wound?

This past weekend, my husband was supposed to be doing yard work.  The first lawn mowing of the season.   Cutting up tree stumps leftover from a massive snow storm destroying two of our 50 ft trees.   Picking up debris.  

But instead, he kept getting interrupted.   The girls wanted "tractor" (lawn mower) rides.   Baby Z wanted nothing more than eye contact and smiles from his Daddy.    Then I went to move an outdoor toy box into the basement before a week of bad weather hit, only to find 30+ worms squirming around on the concrete---to which I yelled at Steve (who was trimming apple trees) to come down and get rid of the writhing creatures who were in the threshold of the basement door.   

The girls stood a good distance away as Steve plucked up worm after worm and put them in a bucket. Then did tricks with the worms.  Then the girls and Steve took the worms into the yard to safely set them free to do whatever worms do (I'm sort of anti-nature and anti-creature)...

and they loved it.

Every smile.  Every compliment.  Every gesture that made them laugh.   Every second of every minute that Daddy entertained them.

You see...the thing that drives me the most crazy about Steve, his procrastination, seems to be his best characteristic.  He's willing to stop whatever "has to get done" and be present with his children.   It doesn't matter how silly the demand (get rid of these worms!) or how minor the request seems to him (tractor ride!  smile!  eye contact!)...he does it.  Willingly.  Without complaining.  Without blame.  Without hesitation.

I really admire that.