Wife Rule #2: It's the Little Things that Count

Last night, while my wife and I we were watching the State of the Union address, I took three short breaks, each of which lasted about five minutes. During the first one, I ran some bath water. During the next one, I washed, dried, and dressed our 2-year-old son. And during the last one, I repeated the procedure for our four-year-old son. Afterwards, my wife thanked me warmly for doing the baths, as if I had done her some great, personal favor.

She could have easily done the baths, but she is almost seven months pregnant, and leaning over to wash little pink bums can be kind of uncomfortable. It wasn't a big deal at all for me to do them, and it had to be done by somebody, so why not me? But the fact that she chose to interpret it as an act of love towards her was, in fact, an act of love towards me.

As our family size has multiplied, it has become a little harder to show those small acts of courtesy, such as opening her door. Not because I love her any less than when we were first dating, but because there are now four doors to open, children to hoist, and car seats to fasten. With all the additional busyness, I'm so grateful that my wife still allows me to show little acts of love to her, in somewhat different but no less meaningful ways.