Monday, June 19, 2006

In Praise of Anthony

Anthony's birthday is always the same weekend as Father's Day, giving him a double-whammy week. I always feel like it really kind of short-changes him, though. Anthony is a great person and a great dad, and we are proud to have him around here.

Sometimes I forget how great Anthony is, until I am talking to someone else. Recently I was telling someone how "green" our house is - we have solar panels and wind generators on our roof. They generate a lot of our electricity needs and drastically lower our bill (to almost nothing in the winter). We have a great vegetable garden. It is automatically watered with waste water from our water softener, which has been converted from NaCl to KCl - potassium which is fertilizer to plants. Thanks to drip irrigation, it flows from the softener directly underground to our tomatoes and peppers. We also capture rainwater with 3 barrels at the bottom of our gutters, and use it to water our plants. We have a chicken hutch behind our shed, with 5 laying hens. We own 2 hybrid vehicles, which were purchased after much research and negotiation.

None of these things would ever have happened without Anthony.

He also volunteers in our local community, serving on the Parks board. He also submitted a grant for our city to get funding for a solar/wind project, then was key in getting this project installed.

I know I have a role to play in our family: I am the primary provider of nutritious food, household chaos reducer, and nurturer of children. However, 2 days a week, I don't do this AT ALL. The person who picks up the slack without complaint is Anthony; the days I work, he drops off and picks up the kids, makes dinner, and usually has them bathed and in jammies when I get home. Oh yeah, and a cocktail waiting for me in the freezer, too. All this in addition to getting his own work done.

Anthony makes me feel great. He admires my intellect, my job, and my physique! Seriously, he thinks I am so much smarter than he is. But that is what makes us great partners: he is smart in areas I am dumb, and vice versa. Anthony downplays his mechanical abilities - stuff he says any grease-monkey can do - but I know how valuable his skills are after talking to my single girlfriends or those with inept husbands. They pay A LOT of money for someone with those abilities to make housecalls. Since we've been together, I haven't changed oil or a tire, fixed a computer or a cranky appliance.

I could go on and on but I might make you nauseated. Before I knew Anthony, I didn't know how many places had boilers, how many things you could do on the internet, and I didn't know beans about renewable energy. I did know he would be a great dad, and still he surpassed my expectations. I also didn't know how great it would be to be in a great marriage with such a well-balanced partner. I didn't know how it felt to be adored.

I love you, Anth. Happy Birthday and Father's Day!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! Thanks! Please come over to the couch now so I can continue to admire your physique!

Leah said...

Okay, you could have stopped after the dinner and cocktail waiting for you..that is where I got nauseated. You are truly blessed with a great husband, friend and father.

Leah said...

Okay...I just now read Anthony's comment that I had to walk away from the computer before it got dirty.....HA HA

Unknown said...

HA HA HA HA HA HA. Too cute, Anth. And Jenn, put on those cutie booty short shorts you wore at my place. Even I was admiring your arse.

Wish I could post my fav pool pic of you two here -- it really goes with this post. Oh well, I'll put it on my blog later this week...

Anonymous said...

...and a cocktail waiting for me in the freezer

As you are a vet, and often write about animal issues, I hope I'll be forgiven for first reading the above sentence as, "...and a cockatiel waiting for me in the freezer".

Happy Birthday, Anthony... please call me to let me know when you'll be over to put those solar panels on my roof ;-)

Jessica said...

What a great post! From what I've seen Anthony is awesome! He's always running errands, fixing things, learning something new and taking care of the kids! I hope he had a happy birthday and a wonderful father's day! I miss you all!!!

Muchos Besos,
Jess

Anonymous said...

Wow,Jenn..where do these 'Anthonys' come from and is there any more ?? I can hear you saying "Nah,God broke the mould when he made MY Anth" am I right? :o)...what a star he is..but then so are you! xx

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday/Fathers Day Anth. Jenn - you lucky lucky girl!! Steph, you make me laugh, what a funny funny comment. XX

Emily said...

Yea for Anthony! I, too, really admire him, and coming from the days in college when he and I were more likely at each other's throats, I have come to appreciate all his talents and the way he loves and takes care of my sister and your adorable children. I only wish we lived closer so I could lean on him when my computer or internet connection doesn't work...

Anonymous said...

Anth has been very good to his MIL and FIL. He has repaired or put together 3 computers for us and makes sure we have the latest edition. He has fixed us up with Tivo, even coming to El Paso and spending 6 hours installing it properly. That changed our TV viewing style completely.
He makes great cakes and serves good wine.
He's a great SIL and he likes my meatballs!

Maureen said...

Does he have an identical twin? j/k It's nice to know there are awesome men out there! Just clue me in to where I can find one of my own!

Unknown said...

Oooh-hoo ck out R DD using the im abbrs!

Anonymous said...

Yes, Anthony is a wealth of info. If you want to know ANYTHING about technology or the latest "green thing" just ask Anth.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

XOXOXOXOXO!

peevish said...

Jenn, you forgot to mention the awesome coffee he makes for you! It's true Anthony. You do rock, almost as much as Michael.