His Hands

After dropping Joel off for week-long, out-of-state camp , Paul and I freewheeled it along Route 30 in Pennsylvania. Today I reflected on the little things that I'm thankful for, amidst the really big thing of having a full week to pick and choose what to do without having to plan for our children. I have chosen to think how much I love my husband's hands.

Yesterday, just after reaching over to hold Paul's hand on the gearshift (tears in his eyes after saying goodbye to our slightly anxious 8-year-old), I realized again how much Paul's hands mean to me. I recalled how he held each of our babies. From the tips of his fingers to the base of his palm was longer than the distance from their neck to their thighs. A friend of ours said of Paul once, "He doesn't hold babies like most men do, like a sack of potatoes. He cradles them right under his chin like something fragile and precious." Yes, I remember it well.

Today he used those hands to mow the lawn and then relax on the golf course with the oldest of the babies, now 22 years and six-foot-seven. Ben's lack of employment at the moment is a mixed blessing today. Moments like these are rare and I'm glad Paul has a son who enjoys such outings with him. I'd be sad if they could be together but didn't want to be. There are plenty of father-son duos like that.

With nimble fingers, bright light, and smart mind, Paul unselfishly fixed my glasses on Sunday morning when we were getting ready for church. We were going to visit Ben's church which starts at 11, and then head up to camp. But while drying my glasses, I accidentally popped a screw loose-- and, of course, couldn't see to fix them myself . Paul discovered that the Walmart lady had put the wrong size screw in. My husband ended up fixing my glasses with part of a guitar string. Hey, it holds more securely, and it's far more an ingenious fix than duct tape. (Slightly less noticeable, too). But the repair job put us twenty minutes late for church.

My husband's hands are dear to me. I'm thankful for them in countless ways.

This is my contribution to Tuesday Unwrapped.