So Ashley just got home after traveling for the last week, which meant I was on solo dad duty.
First off, big shoutout to all the single parents out there.
Doing everything is hard. Getting the kids where they need to go, making sure they’re fed, keeping up with the house, work, training, and somehow taking care of yourself in the middle of all of it. I was doing it for a week. There are people doing it every single day, and I have a ton of admiration for them.
But the other thing it reminded me of is how much your spouse does that you probably don’t even notice.
There are so many little things Ashley takes care of that I don’t think twice about because they’re just handled.
Then she leaves for a week and all of a sudden it’s like a magnifying glass gets put on everything.
Oh, Ashley must normally do that.
...and that.
...and that too.
It made me realize how easy it is to get used to the things someone does for you.
When you have a good balance in a relationship, you each take ownership of different things. That’s what allows the other person to focus on what they need to do. But because it becomes your normal, it can also become really easy to stop noticing it.
That was probably my biggest takeaway from the week.
Pay attention to the things your spouse does that make your life easier.
The things that are always done. The problems you never have to solve. The stuff you don’t even know needs to happen because someone else is already taking care of it.
And then tell them you appreciate it.
It’s easy to appreciate the big things someone does, but there are probably a hundred little things happening every week that you don’t even notice.
Sometimes it takes having to do them yourself to realize just how much your spouse does.
