<p>My parents divorced when I was in college and so I was on a short and unstable leash financially. My favorite professors were taking an entire semester abroad into the Middle East, France and Italy, and I went to the information meeting but didn’t return to the second planning meeting due to the fact that I needed 700ish dollars to go on this trip.<br>
My then boyfriend (now spouse) cashed in his 500 dollar Voice of America scholarship he had won in high school and presented it to me to so I could go abroad for a semester while I was still in undergrad. At the time he was a starving law student at Vandy, living in an apartment with the heat turned off for the winter to save money, studying in hat and coat nightly, no car, and eating canned soup pretty much seven days a week. That and scraping plates for a semester…and I had a semester that was great memory.
would never have gone on this trip without his surprise gift.
As a father, he is markedly unselfish and continues to make sacrifices so our sons can have wider horizons.</p>
<p>My D and I talk about this all the time. </p>
<p>I knew my H was a keeper shortly after we got married. I messed up the checking account really badly. It was bad! I am married to an engineer who has to budget and reconcile million dollar budgets for a living and I bounced checks including one for an important conference he was going to. I did not want to tell him but not only did he not get mad. He understood that we all make mistakes and he figured out how to get me back on track. I couldn’t believe that he wasn’t mad.</p>
<p>Someone thought I should know he was a keeper before we married and I loved him greatly but when I knew it was ok to mess up and still be ok with him, the love was complete.</p>
<p>My husband is the best husband on the planet. I’m so happy he found me almost three decades ago. 
He is caring, loving, gentle, super-smart, and can fix almost anything with the right set of tools (or even without :)). He has a great sense of humor that perfectly matches my sense of humor, so we always laugh together!</p>
<p>There are so many, but he is very loyal and kind to my mom, who is very eccentric. (She’s a hoarder, difficult to be with socially etc.) He has allowed me to bring her on trips with his family, paid for her to come and never issued a peep of complaint. Now that she is dying I know that one reason it has been easier for me to deal with than my siblings is because I have had his support with her all these years, and we have created pleasant memories with her for us and our kids. My siblings haven’t had that support from their spouses.
Right now that is #1 in my mind. He also has a great sense of humor, and appreciates me for who I am.</p>
<p>*My favorite professors were taking an entire semester abroad into the Middle East, France and Italy, and I went to the information meeting but didn’t return to the second planning meeting due to the fact that I needed 700ish dollars to go on this trip.
**My then boyfriend (now spouse) cashed in his 500 dollar Voice of America scholarship he had won in high school and presented it to me to so I could go abroad for a semester **while I was still in undergrad. At the time he was a starving law student at Vandy, living in an apartment with the heat turned off for the winter to save money, studying in hat and coat nightly, no car, and eating canned soup pretty much seven days a week. That and scraping plates for a semester…and I had a semester that was great memory. *</p>
<p>OK…this one gets canonized right now…speaks so well of the kind of person he is. :)</p>
<p>My husband is the rock of our family, never flys off the handle or loses his temper, always remains rational/logical when I am stressing. He is the calm in the eye of every storm we have ever faced…and there have been some doozies. </p>
<p>A hard worker and full of integrity,he handles all the finances, does all the yardwork,knows how to fix almost anything, never complains about my poor cooking skills, takes me out to eat every weekend, doesn’t get mad when I constantly misplace/forget things or spend way too many hours on CC when I should be cleaning the house:) He is forgiving and kind.</p>
<p>Tells me I look as beautiful as ever(he’s known me since I was 14)…as if he doesn’t even notice the cottage cheese saddlebags that were once my thighs.</p>
<p>A lovely man, husband and fabulous dad – liked (not just loved) by both his kids. And HE COOKS EVERY NIGHT.</p>
<p>Wow, all this cooking, ironing, cleaning, parenting. . .I think I’ll go back to the pet peeve thread.</p>
<p>I know. If my H ever read this thread, he’d be embarrassed by how little he does at home. He’s never cooked anything, he has no idea how to turn the dishwasher or clothes washer on, he’s never cleaned anything, he’s vacuumed maybe twice, etc. LOL </p>
<p>Well, he did <em>try</em> to clean something once…when he was watching our kids when they were little, he did try to clean up apple juice that had gotten thrown on a wall…by using my blow dryer to dry it!!! </p>
<p>However, he did change lots of diapers and did spend many minutes/hours walking babies during the “crying hours” of 4-6 pm on weekends. And, if we have a long road trip, he’ll do 99.99% of the driving. And, if he had to, he’d work 3 jobs flipping burgers to support his family :)</p>
<p>H cooks, can fix almost anything, and has a great sense of direction. He has been 100% supportive of me through everything. Oh, and he makes the BEST popcorn.</p>
<p>I needed a new camera … told my H about my camera shopping research and the price range … asked if there was a budget for this … he told me to buy what I wanted. So I did!</p>
<p>This is the guy who is refusing to let me replace his ancient suitcase because it’s a waste on money.</p>
<p>The best thing about my husband is x-rated.</p>
<p>My H is a veritable fount of knowledge. He was google, before there even was google.</p>
<p>Did y’all marry men or angels? I think we need a big shout-out to the MILs who probably helped these husbands become the good guys they are.</p>
<p>To answer a previous poster, yes, I do think this has a big impact on their amount of household help. H1 was much better “trained” on these aspects, and at least in my particular case, it’s easy to see based on each MIL, their household standards, and what the child was expected to do while growing up.</p>
<p>However, H2 is a keeper (or at least he’s keeping me, oops, that’s the “cheaters” thread-hehe). He helps around the house, is the master french fry and chicken nugget maker, is very willing to run errands (I am NOT), is frugal (important to me), does all the driving, and keeps my vast need for Diet Pepsi supplied.</p>
<p>Most of all, each day he goes to a job he despises, where they treat the employees like crap, so our medically needy daughter can have health insurance.</p>
<p>First and foremost, he loves me and is my best friend. Then, he also cooks, cleans. shops for groceries, is a great dad, lets the dog sleep on the bed. He makes me laugh. He lets me put my cold feet on him when I’m cold.</p>
<p>He has no clue what romance is, but fixes me breakfast every morning. I can live without the flowers and candy.</p>
<p>And he has the best legs in the world! ;)</p>
<p>I’m with SML above–H loves me & has been my best friend since we met through today and hopefully for many decades to come. He is an amazing dad and helpmate. He has never grumbled or balked at spending money on the kids or me (including expensive college, braces, health–seeing docs thousands of miles from our home). He’s a great trooper/camper and encourages me to pursue my passions, even if they make no money (or very little). He washes the dishes every night, makes unbelieveable smoked, fried & grilled meats, and knows more than most folks about a wide range of topics. He’s fascinating to talk with and very “low maintenance.” We like many of the same things and enjoy each other’s company but also enjoy time on our own. Have loved my years with H & hope to enjoy decades more! :)</p>
<p>My H is the most intelligent person I know. He’s also funny, and as someone said previously, very emphatic in his opinions. He supports my career 100% although it means lots of travel and him being alone with the kids when they were little. He’s still a hunk, too. And he likes to ballroom dance!</p>
<p>He does not iron, do laundry, or like to do yard work or cook. He will empty the dishwasher, take out the trash.</p>
<p>My husband is also my best friend. He is kind, caring and sexy. He helps me out all the time. He puts up with my plant/tree/flower addiction. He is wonderful with his children. He saves TV shows to watch with me and brings me chocolate ice cream to eat while I watch or a glass of wine. I wish I was half the person he is. When I am with other women who are complaining about their husbands, I always have to think hard to find something to really complain about. And yes, sryrstress- my MIL and FIL are two of the most wonderful people you could ever know. I can only hope to be near that good of a MIL someday.</p>
<p>My MIL did have a direct effect on DH’s penchant for neatness. He says the house he grew up in was always such a wreck that he was determined when he got out that his own house would never look like that.</p>
<p>Ha ha…</p>
<p>I once worked with a man who was i very helpful with “office chores” (like employees’ kitchen duty), while the other men ran from these chores like scared mice.</p>
<p>I asked him about it and he said that he was raised to always “help out” around the house…to “pitch in” with whatever needed to get done, and that it was rude to sit back while others were working.</p>
<p>My husband does the dishes every night and helps around the house when needed. He works full time and I stay home, so I really only have him do the things I can’t; well other than the dishes!</p>
<p>I have a male cousin that does nothing in his house, to the point where his wife will ask my husband to do it when we are over or their daughter’s boyfriends. I am talking about taking the trash out or changing a lightbulb; this man does nothing!!</p>