A husbands words….

DISCLAIMER: This is Michele’s husband, Jeff, posting on my wife’s facebook page because, a) I’m bored (and feel a little naughty doing it) and b) I don’t facebook. Well, I do have a facebook page, but it was created solely for the purpose of a child having a Farmville account.

So here I am . . . babysitting my two youngest children and two friend’s kids while Michele, Shane, and 3 of Michele’s …friends are at the movies getting their vampire/werewolf hotty “fix” as the new Twilight movie opens tonight in theaters. Besides messing with my wife and molesting her facebook account while she’s out, there is a real reason I hopped on here tonight.

I had “a moment” when Michele received a phone call earlier this evening from a good friend who had a child who just had a baby tooth knocked out. The friend was a little frantic and rightfully so. Michele calmly talked her down and told her what to do. It probably helped that we lived through a “tooth trauma” a few years ago when Larkin was 3. I started thinking about how Michele coached and mentored her friend today and how she coaches & mentors others she touches in life too. The flip side of that is Michele has been (and continues to be) coached & mentored by other moms on darn near every subject under the sun. Coach and mentor are coveted terms in the military and are traits that are highly sought after . . . especially in its leaders. But honestly, as Soldiers and leaders, we often suck at this. We get bogged down in the “doing of stuff” day-to-day that this really important investment in others goes left undone. Even before Michele received the frantic phone call this afternoon, she had planned this movie night with a few of her friends. These women all lead different lives, but share a common thread . . . they pride themselves in being the best moms ever for their children . . . and most days this involves an incredible amount of sacrifice. The excitement in the eyes of these moms over just getting out for a movie without children was the highlight of their week . . . perhaps even their month. Thank God women like my wife don’t get bogged down in life (especially in a profession that involves much more “doing” than most) and forget to coach, mentor, and love others with whom they share this common thread with.

It’s just really nice to see a true bond between people . . . in this case, women . . . moms . . . the people who often make the greatest sacrifices for our families. My wife is what I like to refer to as, “a dragger”. I say this in the most affectionate way, she has dragged me along the last 12 years of my life, many times pushing me outside my comfort zone and making me push my personal boundaries. And 99.9% of the time, I have loved every minute of wherever she “dragged” me. Thank God for the moms and wives who drag their husbands, children, and friends, into things they normally wouldn’t do. Why? Because they typically come out better people on the other side, and they tend to “live” life a little more in the process.

I will now stop screwing with my wife’s facebook . . . I’ve probably done enough damage. And thank you to all of Michele’s coaches/mentors/friends here on facebook . . . you guys & gals do truly mean a lot to her. Jeff

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