Rediscovering my husband

A loud and obnoxious boom shook me rudely awake in the midst of a peaceful night's dreaming. We had fallen asleep with the window open (hot flashes are not my friends) and the clap of thunder sounded like it was in bed with us. Before I could even process it, my husband had rolled over half on me and thrown his arm across my body. He did not wake up.

He was trying to protect me, from whatever had made the unexpected loud noise in our room. He threw himself atop me, trying to shield me, and he did it without conscious thought. He did it without even waking up.

I was floored. I know the man loves me. He demonstrates it in a million different ways every day. But this just caught me by surprise and touched me in a way I haven't been touched in a long time. It still does. The man was so dedicated to protecting me that he did it without hesitation, without thinking. I know that I would probably do the same for him and for my children, but that didn't stop me from being utterly astounded by this unconscious act of my husband's.

Honey, you still amaze me, even after a quarter century of loving you, almost 24 years of marriage, and 7 kids. I am humbled.