I'll Take Mine Sunny Side Up

The Captain (aka...my husband) and I were discussing ideas for my next post.
I was throwing out things like this:

• My belief in a flat tax rate...if it's good enough for God (tithes), it should certainly be good enough for this country.
• The misuse of the words "I" and "me" really grates on my nerves. Correct usage: "The Captain and I are going to the store." Correct usage: "Could you go with The Captain and me?" Incorrect usage: "Could you go with The Captain and I?" Try this trick: Repeat the sentence leaving out The Captain. You wouldn't say, "Could you go with I?"....you really wouldn't say that, would you?
• The saying is "I could not care less." The saying is not "I could care less." If you could care less, then you care...that is a direct contradiction of why you would use the phrase in the first place!
• This bunch of clowns: Barney Frank, Murtha, Sean Penn, Chavez, Madonna, Matt Damon,etc. No there isn't one big story involving them collectively. That would make for one heckuva Big Top Circus. Individually, they are clowns. I don't like clowns.

The Captain's response to my brilliant blogging ideas: "Maybe you would like to consider writing about something a little more positive." What? Has this man even read my blog? Positive? I am positively snarky, I don't know what else to tell you. But this is a man who sees pretty much everything "Sunny Side Up".

For those of you who do not know The Captain, let me shed a little light on the man. He never (and I mean never with zero exaggeration), he never complains! That isn't to say he is overly optimistic, it's just that he sees no payoff in whining or complaining. Which in turn means I get nowhere with him if my delivery of anything involves either of those two behaviors. I love this about him, always have.

His second year of residency, at a large military hospital, was one of the most difficult years of his life. He worked over 100 hours a week, enough to wear anyone down quickly. The hours were not the toughest part for him. As the things he witnessed can not be expressed adequately in words, I do not even make the attempt.

The point is that for a solid year, my Captain went to hell and back, more than once. He would argue that point. He would tell you that those he cared for were the ones who had truly seen hell. He would tell you that what he went through was nothing. But I can tell you, I saw him live it through their stories. I saw him live it through their loved ones. He was always there, awaiting the soldiers' return to consciousness. He was there, waiting to introduce these young people to their futures. Futures that were, drastically and forever, changed in brief flashes of time.

I can not comprehend all that he saw and felt. And, I know he is the type of man who downplays all the good he offers in this crazy, mixed-up world. Through the year, he never complained about not having time to eat or sleep. After all, compared to his patients, what could he possibly whine about? I only wish I could have handled that year with the grace and dignity he did. The Captain has a gift for finding good in almost any situation.

There were countless nights he arrived home well after our children were in bed. Many mornings, he would leave the house hours before the rest of the world was even awake. And yet, our children never felt as though their father was unavailable to them. When the Captain was home, he was home. He wrestled and played board games. He went on bike rides and spent hours shooting hoops in the driveway.

He shared life lessons with our children that I never could. He taught them that we will absolutely not complain about the things we do not have. In one year, he instilled in these little souls appreciation for health and very simply, life as we know it. He taught them through his actions, rarely even needing words. They saw their father live what he taught about sacrifice, love for others, charity and compassion. He sat on the pew at church with us every single Sunday he possibly could, when it would have been much more logical to stay home and sleep.

This soldier just kept going. And no matter how exhausted he was, he never once complained. He held his head high, and he served his country with honor and devotion.

So dear Captain, there you have it. That is the positive message I can share today. I can share you with my little circle of readers. You are my hero, and I like my heroes "Sunny Side Up".