The Greatest Sacrifice

One of the things Tambee and I found that we didn’t have in common when we got married was how to spend money. I wanted toys, and she wanted necessities. She wanted to be practical and I wanted to have fun. I would get money for my birthday and spend it on games, comics and food. She got money for her birthday and she would spend it on pictures for the walls and winter coats for our girls. It was frustrating that she didn’t have my values. I felt bad for her but I tried to explain that life was about having fun and she needed to loosen up a bit.

Tambee never seemed to have a problem sacrificing for the family. When the kids needed something, they got it, even at the expense of something Tambee wanted to do. When the house needed something she would cancel her plans and get to work. Never complaining. I was always irritated by her lack of complaints. I was so irritated that I would complain twice as much for both of us – letting her know how I felt about things and that I knew how she was feeling too. I’m sure she appreciated me vocalizing her actual feelings. I’m sensitive like that.

I think one thing that most women are good at is sacrifice. They know that it’s part of who they are as women that they are going to be called upon to sacrifice themselves on the alter of childbearing. They know that pain is part of the job. And it’s strange, at least in my experience that they never say anything about it. When I get a hangnail, I guarantee, people know about it. If someone can do something to ease my pain I think it’s their responsibility to help me through my difficult times. But with Tambee, she’s like a pioneer, she sucks it up and takes it like a, well, you know, like a man.

I don’t however think most women think about the other sacrifice they will make on behalf of their children, and that is their figures. I know that Tambee thinks about her figure all the time and she’s not happy with the way she looks. She wants that girlish figure back. How many people would be willing to give up their athleticism for their children? How many people would be willing to gain a considerable amount of weight for their children? My eternal companion has done both. She thinks her figure makes her less attractive. She’s wrong. Every time I look at her I think of the sacrifice she made for me, our kids and the family. How she gave up one of her most valuable possessions in order that we could have kids. And I am in awe of her. I am so blessed to have someone who was willing to do that for me, for our family. I am so blessed to not have a wife who is obsessed with her figure, her weight and her looks. I know it’s not where she would like it to be. But she chooses to spend time being with me, being with the family and enriching her mind, rather than being at the gym. And that means a lot.

I know some people won’t appreciate what I’m saying. They’ll say she could loose the weight if she wanted. But if they say it, they’re missing the point. She sacrificed for me. She sacrificed for her kids. She sacrificed for her family. What greater compliment can be given of a person? That is why my wife is my hero. That is why my wife is more beautiful now than on the day that I first laid eyes on her. And that is why I love my wife more now than I ever did before. Each day just keeps getting better.