Why my wife is the greatest

Cheryl and I have been married for almost 2 years and 7 months now, and I have learned a lot about her since May 11th, 2007. Most people don't get to see a lot of just how great she is, and no one gets to see as much of that as I do--so I thought I'd take a few minutes to spread the news.

Since she graduated from Covenant Seminary, she did 3 long years of social work in extremely difficult areas with extremely difficult families...and never stopped caring about them or her role in their lives. Even though she hates paperwork, is not a social worker, and that job took a LOT out of her every day, she did it anyway. She made it possible for us to pay our bills, for me to get through my MDiv, and for her to complete her counseling licensure. Pretty amazing.

Now she works as a therapist at a childrens home, as more of a counselor than a social worker, but still not doing totally full-fledged counseling. She works with more extremely difficult kids, most of whom do not want to be in therapy with her, talk to her, or respect her one bit. She goes every day though, and has not lost an ounce of care or commitment for her clients or purpose there. Her supervisor loves her and regularly shows that what Cheryl is doing goes above and beyond others at the home. Pretty amazing.

Since we bought the house, Cheryl has tackled a lot of projects that required all kinds of strength. I'm always amazed at just how strong she is--she can handle the other end of a big dresser or table with no problem. She can fix windows, paint like a pro, and put up with the dust and chaos of demolition and reconstruction as well as anyone I know. She has enough patience and vision for the both of us while we restore this house, and there have been many times where I'm too frustrated or tired to really want to finish a job or start a new one...and she'll say "The house will be great" and I know I can believe her. Pretty amazing.

Since we have accumulated 2 cats and our very big dog, she's had to put up with a lot from them. Normally I don't wake up when Maddie barks at 1am to go out, but she does and she lets her out and back in...while I sleep. She cleans up Gidget's poop off the baseboard (don't ask...we have no idea) and let's Rory sleep right on top of her head every night. Pretty amazing.

But the mot amazing thing of all is that she has put up with ME for almost 3 years! She has really encouraged me to grow in a lot of different ways, and is always there to back me up. She really is the greatest wife. Just because she doesn't toot her own horn doesn't mean she doesn't have a big horn to toot. She's way to humble to let everyone know how amazing she is; don't let her fool ya. :)