I love having my husband retired. It’s very handy for things I need to get done around our home. He’s there to put frozen birds in the fridge to thaw when I’m out shopping and remember I at the last minute. It saves me an unplanned trip home. He’s fixing things that have needed to be fixed for years. He’s there to lend a hand when I find myself in precarious situations out in the garden.

I was gardening the other day and decided another bush had to come out. It had become too large and was boring with its green leaves. I’m freshening up the front yard and it was blocking the light. Though it was an evergreen, which is a bit of winter interest, it had overstayed its welcome. My husband got the sawzall (I let him use it once in awhile), and sawed while I dug and yanked. We stuffed it in the yard waste bin in record time, almost as the truck arrived to collect it. I never could’ve done it that quickly myself.

However, my husband also follows me around the yard and talks to me. That’s not a bad thing, I like the guy, so I don’t mind listening to him. However, it puts him in a position to take what I dish out. I don’t mean figuratively, though I probably do my share of telling him what to do, but literally, the guy will take whatever I hand him. As I was clipping, pulling, and thrashing around, every time I had an object I didn’t know what to do with, I just handed it to him. A piece of plastic I clipped off a vine, a rogue weed, a broken branch. He must have a lot of trust in me, because he kept blindly taking stuff. Sometimes he had to ask what I wanted him to do with it, because after all these years he still can’t read my mind, go figure. Yes, it’s become extremely beneficial for me to have my husband home.

In cleaning out and reorganizing my mom’s house, I often get overwhelmed and frustrated. So I just throw things in the back of my car, knowing my husband will take care of whatever it is — recycle overflow, ancient magazines and newspapers, impractical cardboard boxes that my mom may have emptied but aren’t helpful for further storage, thrift store donations. You cannot imagine how relieved I am on those days when I’m exhausted, knowing he is home to hold me up after a rough day of sorting. I would try harder to take care of everything myself had he still been working and getting up at 4 a.m. I know he still would have taken on the burden, but then we would both have been over-tired.

He’s always been the kind of husband who would take anything I handed him just to save me a few steps. He’s been doing it since our daughters were diaper ages and I’d change them and hand him the poopy diaper. He’d take it to the trash while I wrapped the child up. He might not be good at anticipating my needs, but when I’m feeling taken for granted, I try and remember he’s always there if I just ask. He also offers an arm when my MS legs aren’t cooperating.

Those are some big shoulders I have to lean on and for that I’m grateful. It’s a fine life to know he has my back and is there for the hand-off, no matter what it is. That is love.

Gretchen Leigh is a stay-at-home mom who lives in Covington. You can read more of her writing on her website livingwithgleigh.com, follow her on Facebook at “Living with Gleigh by Gretchen Leigh. Her column is always available at maplevalleyreporter.com under the Life section.