Kiss the Hardworking Husband

Aaron's work ethic is unlike any you've seen. Mostly a good thing, but sometimes anything (or anyone) unrelated to finishing his project gets put on the back burner, including Nink (me) and Little Nink (Ella). He gets in this untouchable, relentless, don't-get-in-my-path-or-I'll-knock-you-down zone. Over the years, I've learned to recognize when he's in this zone and to not take anything personally at that time. He just won't stop short of perfection and won't sit down until the job is done. As for me and my dilly dallying pace, I need a husband like him to help me complete projects. If it wasn't for him, I'd have tons of unfinished projects around the house.

A few days ago Aaron took down all our kitchen cabinets and started sanding them. If you know Aaron, you know volunteering to do manual labor outdoors in the summer heat is unheard of. But, his work ethic knows no boundaries. He charges through those cabinet doors like it's nobody's business.

Today, while Aaron sanded some cabinet doors on the back patio, I removed all food, mini-appliances, plates, glasses, etc. from the cabinets and displaced them throughout the house. Our laundry room, living room and garage are quite the mess right now. It's amazing how much stuff fits in those cabinets!

Afterwards, we taped off our kitchen with big plastic sheets and sanded the cabinets themselves. We were quite the sight with our goggles, masks and ear plugs. I wanted to take a picture of us to share with you all (simply for laughing purposes), but Aaron would not allow his "baby" (Nikon D60 SLR Camera) anywhere near the dust-filled kitchen. I don't blame him!

The sanding of the cabinets ended up being about a 5-hour project, from set-up to clean-up. We first sanded the cabinets down with 60 grit sandpaper, then we went over everything again with 220 grit sandpaper to give it the smooth finish.

What did Ella do during this time? I went in and out of the kitchen, checking on her and making sure she was alright, but she's very independent and can play very well by herself. She watched "Toy Story," put puzzles together and played with the paper plates, cups and napkins she found lying around (since all our kitchen stuff was in her reach). Look at what she made!

Dancing around.

Our cabinets are now as smooth as a baby's bottom. And, since I don't have a baby's bottom in my life right now (or baby anything, for that matter), our cabinets are the next best thing. :)

Aaron's a lean, mean mopping machine!

So, with all of Aaron's hard work on a project that he didn't entirely feel necessary in the first place, I think I owe him millions of kisses. I imprinted this "Kiss the Cook" inscription above our dining table.

Whenever I make a nice dinner I like to remind him that he owes me a kiss. Well, there should be an inscription that says, "Kiss the Hardworking Husband" for him to point at and gloat. He deserves all the kisses in the world. Thanks for all our hard work, hun!