When I first got married a million years ago (Ok, 21..) I remember being a little surprised that my new husband wasn't exactly like my Dad. I thought all men could fix ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING like my Dad could. We never called a plumber, a mechanic or even a contractor when I was growing up. Dad just fixed everything and even built his own addition to our house when our family outgrew the little home they bought from Grandpa Larry for $7,000! I expected that Kurt would do the same.
The first time we had to call the Roto-Rooter man and pay him $45 to snake a drain, I was pretty frustrated because I was convinced my Dad could have done it for nothing. Fortunately, I quickly learned that even though he was NOTHING like my Dad, Kurt was EXACTLY what I needed and wanted in my life. He cannot fix a car engine. Nope. He can change the oil but he'd rather take it to someone else. Give Kurt five weeks of sick leave, and he just simply won't use it. I think he may have missed two days of work with sickness in the whole time I've known him. He works hard and takes care of us and I am so glad he is exactly who he is.
This morning I found myself frustrated because my new Son-in-Law isn't EXACTLY like Kurt. And I found myself remembering that Kurt wasn't exactly like my Dad, either. I'm slowly learning to be a Mother-in-Law and I'm usually not very good at it. Fortunately for Mack, he has a wonderful wife who knows that he is her top priority. She successfully makes us all feel loved and respected and helps us all learn to navigate this new stage of life. So even though he is not exactly like her Dad, I think Ashli is pretty happy with him just the way he is:)