Love Comes Obscurely

We woke up yesterday with plans to mow the yard.  Our weekly summertime mowing chores includes not only mowing but also edging, weed-eating and blowing.  I do the mowing; he does everything else.

But, first - my trike ride.  I left for my ride and came back 45 minutes later.

During that time, he had started pruning bushes and pulling overgrown thorn bushes and other unwelcomed plant life.  Lots of pruning; even more pulling; about 2 years worth . . . life demanding our attention elsewhere throughout the years, doncha know.

I helped when I got back from my triking.  Somewhat.
By the time we got around to bagging all of his efforts, it was about noon-thirty.

Way too hot and humid for me; I decided to delay my specific mowing chores until today, when I could do it earlier in the day.

He also decided he was done with the lawn, for the time being.  He called a friend, and the two of them finalized plans they had made a few days earlier to go do some remodeling of some friends' kitchen.

He spent about 30 minutes loading his truck with various heavy pieces of equipment and some that weren't heavy, but were numerous.

And, off he went.

He was gone several hours.  Working.  Remodeling.

Around 5:30pm, I hear my awesome hubby - he who makes my heart beat widly - pull up in the driveway.

I was just about to get in the shower.

He spent another 30 minutes unloading his truck and putting away all his tools & equipment.  And then he told me that he was going to get busy with the edging, weed-eating and blowing.

An hour and a half later, he comes back inside, covered in lawn dust and such, and heads to the shower.

   "Wanna walk the girls after my shower?", he asks.

During his shower, I clean up the kitchen.

It's then time to walk the puppy girls; but first, he goes outside to smoke.  I continue puttering around in the kitchen.

Through a closed door leading to the garage, I hear him groan a few times.
   "He is beyond tired right now", I think to myself.


*~*~*~*~*
Many minutes later, much later than his usual cigarette break, I was getting a bit, uhm, concerned.
   Is he ok?  Do I need to go check on him?  I'll give him a few more minutes.  

Finally, he walks through the door.

Exhaustion was written all over his face.

   Oh good!  I say as I smile at him.  I was beginning to wonder if you were ok.
      I'm ok, he says.  Yesterday I saw that one of your tires was low, so I was out there airing them all 
     up.  Ready to walk the dogs?


*~*~*~*~*
Sometimes love shows itself in huge, obvious ways.

More frequently though, love shows itself in quiet, obscure ways . . . such as an over-exhausted husband airing-up his wife's trike tires and then going on an hour-plus walk with her.

Tex does both; the obvious and the not-so-obvious.

I am so incredibly beyond blessed.
I love that man.  Deeply.