Thankful for the clean counter

Some days suck.

But, this counter was a good reminder to be thankful.

I was standing in the kitchen when Mike’s 6’2″ frame walked through the door. I walked over to him and layed my head on his chest, the smell of exhaust filling my nose.
“How was your day?” he asks.
I just look up at him, shake my head no and put my head back down.
“That bad, huh?” he says.
And tears slowly start to trickle down my face.

You see, I had spent the last hour holding a screaming baby, tired, hungry, and refusing to nurse. The project I was struggling with on the computer wouldn’t work. And I was trying everything I could think of to fix both.

And I was failing.

Mason had a weight check to see how he’s been doing since his tongue and lip were revised and wasn’t gaining what he should. This computer project is very important to me and I was hitting a wall. Hard.

I felt defeated. How could I get him to gain weight if he refused to nurse? How could I complete my project if I can’t even get it off the ground?

I hate not having the answers. I hate not being able to fix it. That’s me in a nutshell.

Sometimes I need help, but I’m not a huge fan of asking for it. One aspect of me learning to be a better partner is asking Mike what I can do to make his life easier. And he reciprocates.

The day before, I had asked him to clean the counter.

If he could get up in the morning, put the miscellaneous cups and whatever away and wipe it the counter down, I would be grateful.

And he did.

The next morning when I got up, my heart smiled. What an impact. Just that one little thing. When I walked into the kitchen that morning, to a clean counter, it made all the difference in the world. It made my day easier. It made my messy brain relax. The counter that usually has half a dozen cups, papers, a cereal box, and random disregarded silverware was clutter free.

So even though my day was crap, every time I walked past that counter I smiled to myself.