My wife's husband

I sometimes think that my wife's should-be husband was born about 40 or so years too young. He's the guy she referred to in this post and I've had the honor of meeting the guy a couple of times. Once at our wedding reception when he told me very bluntly that I better take care of Alene. The second was on a trip to Portland Alene and I took.

When I first met Alene, she told me about her belief in God and how this man and his wife helped Alene understand what it meant to be a true Christian and one that is loving, forgiving, and tolerant toward others. She said previous to that she had never understood it until living with them.

When she spoke of H, her eyes would always light up and she would smile about how great of a husband, father, and grandfather he was. She was so impressed with the life he lived in both the military and as a teacher in Alaska. She said he worked so hard to support his family and was everything to his grandchildren (who helped raise). He was devoted to his family and his church and in retirement, volunteered at his grand children's school.

The way she talks about him is the way I would want her to think about me. I think any man would want his wife to feel the same way about him in the way Alene talks about this man.

When I hear her talk about him, I reflect on myself. I think of the people that I want to emulate and be like and I'll always say it's my own father. I want nothing more than to let him know he is and was a great influence on my life. With that said, I feel like I'm half the man he and H are and I've got a lot to catch up on. I'm 31 years old, I still have not finished school, and I don't spend enough quality time with both my wife and my family. I kind of suck, but I know I can do better.

I didn't want to ruin this post on a down note. H was great to spend time with and he reminded me VERY much of my own father, who is loving, tolerant (VERY tolerant from the crap I did as a teenager), and forgiving. He also worked VERY hard for his family (and continues to). These are both great men that I would use as an example to anyone I met as to how to be a man. I love my wife very much and I want to be a better husband and father so she could so proudly think of me the same way she thinks of H.