Lady Chatterly loves her papa bear. Too cliché? Too bad.
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I saw the hashtag #proudtobeacliché on Twitter recently, and it made me smile because it was such a sweet reminder that sometimes it’s okay to be like everyone else. To enjoy things other people do. To relish and cherish and delight in things others also delight in. Clichés become cliché because they’re recognizable and relatable. And there’s nothing wrong with that. And so in that spirit, here are some of the most clichéd things I love about my husband and our marriage:
1. Waking up beside him every day. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of the pleasure of gently peeling off dreams from the night before. Of rolling over and smiling at my beloved, lying beside me with a face crinkled from sleep. The few, wonderful moments of togetherness before we disappear off into our own days. Bliss.
2. What’s not to love about a man in a suit? I love seeing my husband dressed for work in his suit pants and business shirts, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Sure, he looks great in jeans and a t-shirt. But there’s something seriously sexy about a man all dressed up.
3. Nights on the couch. The days of drinking and dancing until the early hours of the morning are long gone. In their place, lazy evenings curled up on the couch. Sometimes we’re connected, both watching a film we’ve chosen. And sometimes we’re together but separate, me devouring a book while he taps away on his laptop. Which brings me to point 4:
4. Comfort in silence. There’s something about the delicious, gentle quiet between two people in love. The ability that grows over time to sit and languish in this space without rushing to fill it. I love the way my silence joins my husband’s, combining like a symphony only we can hear. And it sounds lovely.
5. The scent of a man. His smell! The cloud of aftershave that lingers after my husband has walked out the door. The heady post-exercise sweat cocktail (anyone with me?). And when he’s away, his pillow. Which I steal, sleeping head buried amongst the scent of him.
6. In love and fatherhood. Falling further and deeper in love after adding to your family? Check. Watching my husband with our baby, growing into his role as a father, has stretched and swollen my heart in the most enchanting way. It’s made me realize how multifaceted love is. How you can love someone for being strong and vulnerable all at once, something fatherhood, with its weight of responsibility and overwhelming joy, most certainly brings to the fore.
7. Friends with benefits: strings attached. Being married to my best friend is another relationship cliché I’m more than happy to claim with pride. There’s a certain magic about the mix of friendship and love and the way it can buoy a marriage. How a relationship, based on friendship, knits you together, binding you on a deeper stronger level which can help carry you through life’s toughest challenges.
8. Long walks on the beach. Actually, you know what? I think I’ll draw the line at this one.