Nothing strikes fear into my husband’s heart quite like the phrase “So babe I’ve been thinking …”
I, through pure dumb luck, married a solidly skilled fellow 30 years ago. I rate this 10 out of five stars. No regrets. He was young and smart but far from wealthy back then. You could say I married for maintenance and not money at that point.
I swooned over a guy with green eyes, great hair and a nice socket set. The hard work, hustle and sheer determination to make a wonderful life for me and our children came along naturally for him.
I like when he fixes one thing that needed fixin’ and then starts fixing other things just because he noticed those needed help as well.
Taking initiative and freelancing? I’m impressed!
Granted, I’m appreciative of “necessary maintenance.” Those brakes and basement jobs aren’t going to take care of themselves. However, what I’m really always on board for are the “pretty projects.”
Maintenance, like our ongoing need for driveway gravel (where does it GO?) is less compelling for me, personally. I’d much rather decide to randomly refinish a floor, hang a mural or plant a lot of shrubs or trees that require digging many holes. That is a really good time in my book. Perfect date night really.
As for me, I know that Mr. Wonderful thinks I spend my days just scrolling Pinterest and social media and watching home improvement programming just thinking of new projects to keep him up at night. Honestly, he’s not entirely wrong.
I have a handyman in the house full-time? I’m sorry, but I can’t let that go to waste. That’s like one of God’s greatest gifts to a marriage. It would be unconscionable to not take advantage of that.
Thus, in 30 years, I have worked, reworked and had him renovate yet again almost every surface in this home.
Just recently, I finally got grass to grow over an area that had previously been dirt and gravel only to decide this spring that, you guessed it, I think I’d like it to be a driveway again. I know he’s thrilled, but he will go ahead and pull out the tractor and get to work on it this summer. I’m thinking a carport. Maybe a little pavilion of sorts. How hard can it be? They throw them together on those DIY shows in like 30 minutes, right?
Mr. Wonderful raised GirlWonder to be a capable princess with reasonable standards. I’m not saying high because being treated with respect is the bare minimum in a relationship. She sees her dad treat me like a queen, and she took that as a baseline and chose her partner accordingly.
Our son-in-law is a wonderful man, and we couldn’t be happier for them both as they celebrate four years of marriage – and one year of home ownership! Now Girlwonder and her own handy husband are learning from the master, Mr. Wonderful. I truly think it warms his heart to be the one they call for home ownership advice great and small. He is also in charge of bat removal — with some help from HIS dad, my wonderful father-in-law who is also the best Paw-Paw around.
Now ‘the kids’ have a collection of tools, and they are learning how to use them. Son-in-Law and Mr. Wonderful work well together. They both really love pushing things around with a tractor. They’ve also already done a very extensive plumbing job on truly ancient pipes and remained friendly — which I think says something about their relationship. It’s strong. He really is the other son to us. Boy wonder is used to it. Raised with it. He was smart and moved two hours away just to get some distance. But the jokes on him, he ended up with his own old home and all his own projects and a fiancé that is super creative. She is simply amazing and could turn a cardboard box into a palace with maybe three tools and an afternoon. She took the exterior walls off their enclosed porch BY HERSELF while he was at work on day. I like a gal with spunk like that! When she does need assistance, he might try and pretend he doesn’t have the skill. We are quick to remind him that he is 28 years old with 26 years of experience. We assure her that he certainly does know how. Together they have built a beautiful home.
In a nutshell, I didn’t marry the man who calls a guy when something goes wrong, I married the man who is the guy. That has made all the difference. Now it is making all the difference in the quality of life of our grown children. Such is the circle of life for the handyman’s wife.
