Give them roots and wings

Last Sunday the pastor who preached talked about pride and arrogance.

I have a lot of arrogance with regards to being a mother.  I speak well of my husband, but I often secretly believe that I can run the household and take care of the children without him.

Actually I know that is not true, because as I have alluded elsewhere before, I am terrible in the kitchen, my house is not that well run, and my children are not that well-behaved.  But it is a secret sin of mine to think that way.  It feeds my ego.

So today, I am going to write this post, to expose that deception in my heart, and to remind my future self, that my husband a.k.a daddy, is a wonderful and capable man.  There are many things that he can do and is doing, and that which I either cannot or refuse to do.

One of course, is in the area of health and fitness.  He is the one who encourages me and the boys to exercise.

Daddy has been bringing the older boys jogging, followed by badminton.
All the children look forward to it.
Once Elias brought the badminton racket out and said :
“I think daddy will bring us to play badminton today.
We have quite a nice daddy, don’t you think?”

He teaches the children too. For school and pleasure.

Daddy does not always help the children with their school work.
But he can always be relied upon, to help with Samuel,
when I need time for other things.
And of course, he is the only one who can really help the children
with their Maths and Science.

Actually, my husband picked up the guitar because I encouraged him to.
When we were dating, I was the one who could play the guitar better than him.
But I told him that he could play it really well.
So he continued.
Today, I can no longer play it, due to lack of practice.
He plays it really well now.
He is obviously Samuel’s hero.
Samuel wants to learn to play the guitar like his daddy.

He provides for the children’s spiritual and physical needs (and wants).

Daddy is the one who prays for the boys at bedtime.
I am the one who reminds and sometimes chases him each day.
But he does it with no complaint.
Sometimes, he gets up from his work table three times a night to do it,
because all three of them go to bed at different times.
Again, he does not ask me why I cannot do it so such that he only needs to do it once.
He just does it.
Samuel has been asking for a watch. He asked Daddy to get one for him.
So one night, daddy bought a watch for him.
He was so happy.
Daddy was so happy too.

Of course there was the latest bread-making project.  We used to have a Princess bread-maker.  We stopped using it for a long time. Suddenly Edmund decided to make bread.  Alas! The machine did not work. Nevermind, he kneaded it by hand, and baked it in the microwave.

It was hardly edible.

He tried again the next day.  This time, he did everything himself.  It was not very good.  But Elias loved it, and ate most of it up.

Edmund always says that it is fun for the children to bake.
He is right. It is fun.
But I am too lazy for it.
Edmund is not.
The children had fun baking with him, but most of what he did,
he did in the middle of the night, after the children slept.
It was all done, on top of his work, and on top of my demands for his time.

He tried it the third time, and this time he succeeded.  We had a loaf of really tasty and chewy (means fresh!) bread.

He also made chocolate chip muffins on the same day!

Elias and Samuel had fun helping daddy with the muffins this time.
Elkan was out.
The children loved the muffins.
I preferred the bread. Ahem. *hint hint*

Now that I am a SAHM, he is the only bread-winner.  Now I can no longer say things like :”I also work you know, can you please help out with the children too?”  I do not even have the (wicked) pleasure of telling him how much housework I had to do at home because we have a domestic helper.

But never did he once complain about the burden on him, nor has he ever asked this accusing, all-condemning question, “You are home the whole day, how come the house is so messy?  What have you been doing?”

Thank you dear.  You are a great husband, father and my best friend.  Thank you for always forgiving my silly ways, overlooking my offences towards you, and loving me despite all of them.

No, I cannot do it without you.  I need you.  Thank you for being all that you are.