A Prince Among Husbands

I think I must have just about the only husband around who can dig ditches, split firewood, wear homemade dayglo tie-dye pants without embarrassment, analyze financial statements, build his own stereo speakers (that’s some of my favorite quilting fabric decoupaged to the sides of the speaker, by the way):

and write a poem like this, which he surprised me with at our 25th anniversary party:

25 Years… Half-Step Epic

Sunrise and sunset mixed up forever,

Fall, winter and spring confused,

I lost the calendar and measured time

by anticipation of our time together.

Then orderly days strode on, but turning years

Became discoveries so upending,

Our settled senses swirled and we mixed

Smiles with tears, fireflies with stars.

In our first home, temperately settled,

Walnut and blackberry surrounded us.

Tiny Sunny, a charming teacher, our

Wildness soon tamed and gentled.

Civilized, but not suppressed,

We adventured across oceans,

Marveled at cherry blossoms,

Napped in temples, by snoring blest.

Returning, to these golden parts,

We searched again for treasure,

When Basketball Girl, a mischievous imp,

Sprightly danced into our hearts.

Thought Christine, for this cast,

We need a wider stage. Requiring

A field, a barn, a forest green,

Our Realtor we now harassed.

This goal achieved, we can reckon,

That new urgencies soon will roil,

Our fleetingly placid domestic life.

Do you hear a new project beckon?

So many adventures, and in such a play,

We cast ourselves as King and Queen,

But humbler forsooth, and questing inward,

Inviting our errors to conquer vanity.

Our contravening habit, we switch feet,

And conquer vanity to surmount our errors.

Left or right ahead, conjoined together,

Collaboration makes our sojourn sweet.

Half epic, part comedy, our story told,

One apart is my ladylove, better than gold.