The Ties That Bind

Brent woke up a bit late for his temple shift this morning. He rushed about getting showered, putting in his contacts and frantically throwing on his Sunday clothes. In general I love watching him tie his tie but this morning even more so. He quickly ran through the dozen or so things on his mind with me while he quickly and precisely tied his tie. In the few years we've been together I think I've bought him a dozen ties. Initially it was because all his ties were totally wrong for him. Olive green, grey and burgundy just don't fit an upbeat, happy, blue-eyed, blond. Eventually I bought them because I came to love watching him handle something I'd given him with such mastery. The end of the tie flies in various directions before he gives it two firm tugs and slides it up, perfectly knotted, to his crisp, white collar. Oh my, it really is impressive.

There are a couple of other random things I adore about him. Anytime he holds Liesel I'm struck by how tiny she looks and how natural he looks. Brent was truly meant to be a father and even more so, a father of a little girl. When she's tired and she puts her little strawberry blonde head on his chest while she rubs her eyes I just want to cry it's so cute. Even at almost a year old, Brent can still carry Liesel in one hand. Perhaps it's the two ear infections I've had lately, but I tend to teeter when I pick her up. Brent has a way of doing it so smoothly and easily. It gets me every time.

Almost everyday Brent impresses me with some random fact. Did you know Amber Alert was named after a girl called Amber? Or that the Rooney family who owns the Pittsburgh Steelers initially purchased them for just thousands of dollars? Or Liam Neeson's wife who is the sister of Joely Richardson and daughter of Vanessa Redgrave recently died? Casual conversations are never boring with Brent and when he really impresses me with some tidbit of information he gets a sparkle in his eyes (no kidding, they really sparkle!) and the slightest smile. It's so adorably humble and I love it when he does that. Seriously, it just kills me.