Appreciation

I swear Cricket is the best man on earth. Next to my dad, who will always top my list, but Cricket is right there with him. This man can do it all. He jokes that I only have him around to take care of things (at least I think he's joking) and to keep me warm at night. I swear this is not the case.

The princess started dance yesterday. Class starts at 5:15, and there's no way in 40 hells I could get her there so that gets left to Cricket. He manages to get her there on time, and dressed with tights,(hello I struggle with those damn things and I'm a girl) leotard, and ballet shoes, and never bats an eye. I'm fairly certain if her sperm donor was assigned the same task he'd have to pay someone to help him. Or he'd just not take her, which is his usual MO.

After dance she had to go straight to cheer practice so we just threw her sweats on over her dance stuff, put on her tennis shoes and rolled out. Right before the end of cheer she said she had to go to the bathroom so Cricket walked with her. She went in and promptly came back out holding her hands out and said "what am I supposed to do about this??". It took him a minute and then he realized she was talking about her dance stuff. He assessed the situation and realized her leotard had to come off, so he takes her into the boys bathroom and helps her get out of her stuff.

This is about the same time the Honeybadger yells at me that he has to pee RIGHT NOW. It simultaneously dawns on me that the Princess was still in her dance gear and I better go help. I couldn't find them in the girls bathroom or the hallway, so I marched in the boys bathroom right behind the little. Let me tell you, boys bathrooms in schools still stink just as bad as they did when I was a kid. Ewww. So I walk in and there's Cricket and the Princess, leotard slug over his shoulder, sweat pants back on the girl, and fighting with tennis shoes. All while she's trying to just not touch anything at all. I was just glad it was over when I got there and I didn't have to spend more than 30 seconds in that stinky ass bathroom.

Sometimes I wonder how I managed the single mom thing as well as I did for so long. But then I remember that when you're stuck with something you just make do. You don't even think about it you just DO it. Like Nike. The thing I love the most about Cricket is he isn't "stuck" with anything. He does all he does for us because he loves us and he wants too. I never have to ask him to pick up the things I can't do, or to pitch in and help, he just does it, and he does it with a smile on his face, and talks about how much he loves it. Practices, dance, school drop offs/pick ups, laundry, any of it. He'll fix the drain, and practice cheers, kick soccer balls and adjust bike seats. He makes me incredibly thankful that I'm not doing it alone anymore, and that I won't have too, and I'm proud that he does all he can everyday to teach the Honeybadger what it means to be a man. A real one. Not just one that's a "man" because of their age, but one who is a man based on their actions.