Unsung Sean

Sunday night I walked to church.  Sunday night is not a typo.  When I attend, I go to the 6:15 Mass.  It’s my church’s special LIFE TEEN Mass.   So the congregation is a whole bunch of teenagers….and Vicky! 

My journey was two miles one way.  A perfect distance to get out enjoy the day and exercise without becoming too sweaty for even God to love.  However, my journey was long enough that if I wanted a timely dinner, I needed a ride back. 

It was my agnostic husband who made my walk possible!  Without a single roll of the eyes or even an irritated sigh, he volunteered to pick me up at 7:15.

It got me thinking a bit.  There are a number of aspects of my lifestyle that Sean does not subscribe to, approve of or especially respect.  Nonetheless, he often exerts effort to facilitate me.  Two other examples come to mind at the moment:

• Sean does not care for NOFX.  He has, on occassion, said that punk music gives him a headache.  Yet, very often when an album comes out, I don’t have to step foot in a music store.  I’ll return home on a Tuesday evening to find the CD waiting for me on the breakfast nook.  Ultimately he is punishing himself– increasing the odds he has to hear the music he does not like.  🙂 But, he secures the CDs anyway.
• About once or twice a year, Sean will join me on a hike.  It’s not his first choice of activity and there is the ongoing threat of snakes, but he’ll come along.  However, I think it is Sean’s logistical help on the hikes he does not go on that should be highlighted.  He has woken up early a couple of times to drop me off at a trailhead.  One day in fact, he woke up at 5 AM on a day off to help shuttle me to a trail!  And it was common for Sean to have a steak and baked potato waiting for me when I arrived home.  He knew without being told, the exact meal my body was craving after a long trek!  Even though he only physically walked 2.5 unique miles on the Appalachian Trail– Sean’s contribution to my RATC Patch was much more significant than my spreadsheet could ever reveal.

So maybe I don’t have a husband who’ll come along with me to church, listen enthusiastically to my music or will spend a summer day hiking.  I do have a husband who in his own way contributes to those efforts despite his distaste.  I have a husband who’ll walk the dogs so I could work late.  A husband who’ll wait to start the DVD so I can go jogging.  A husband who’ll run errands to accomodate my contract work and a husband who’ll read my story even though he hates fiction.

Maybe, just maybe, that is a little more telling than a husband who would blindly embrace my every whim.

(I say maybe, so I can still reserve my right to complain when the mood suits me! 🙂 )