spouse arrest

So, this morning my husband woke up screaming--well, man-yelling is actually a better term--in pain.  We've all had that stiff, painful "crick-in-the-neck," and he was pretty sure that's all he was having; however, the pain was so severe he couldn't move his arm or change positions.  After lots of coercing, he got into the shower to let the hot water try and relax some of the pain.  After our valiant combination of ibuprofen, heat, and massaging--all to no avail--we decided it was time to call up the dreaded MDs.  My hubby hates going to the doctor, so it's always a last resort.  Upon speaking with the doctor and getting prodded in his already aching neck, the pain got too strong and he passed out. He also now knows the startling smell of Ammonia smelling-salts, an experience he never wants again.  It took awhile to bring him back to lucidity, and currently he's fine, home, and resting.

It doesn't take much of a medical scare to show me how much I love my husband.   Throughout the morning I was blessed with peace, able to really analyze the situation and understand the cause for the pain and side-effects.  It was all I could do to ward of the temptation to think about worst case scenarios.  However, when my husband was in the hospital room--a place he hates and is completely uncomfortable--nothing else was important at the moment:  not the meeting I was supposed to be at, not the appointments I had later in the day, not any of the things I wish I had, nothing...  complete arrest of my senses.  Maybe it all sounds a little dramatic, but it takes a lot to take out a big guy like my husband, and he was the most important thing to me at that moment.

I wonder what it would be like if I was like that more often?  How much more honoring could I be to my husband if I was more concerned with his needs than the thousands of things littering my brain on a daily basis.  How hard would it be to put down my work when he gets home and give him a big hug, grab him a beer, and ask him about his day?  How much would I really miss if I switched off "Keeping up with the Kardashians" (my guilty pleasure) and just talked to the hubs?  Or switched to the football game?  I should not wait for emergencies to put aside the countless worries in my life in honor of my husband.  That's something I can do on a daily basis, in small ways, to show him how much I care; not only would it make him feel more like the amazing man I see him as, but I think it would also help me organize my priorities.  And he is SO worthy of that kind of attention and love.  What an eye-opener!