Jude: A poem

The rough landscape

of his body

knows no limit

of tenderness.

Do they make his sort anymore;

is he a sign of the Second Coming?

Who would I be had I known a man

like him a little earlier

from the cradle?

I would take away all his burdens

so he could be free

to love the world as he loves

these four

and me

and men would be men

and families would stay

and women would be cradled

in the palm of worship

and the work would go forth

and cats would sleep, purring

and dogs would not shed

and the sun would sigh to sleep each night.

But I cannot.

So he labours to serve, to preside, to protect

to walk the dog in the rain at 6 am

and bring me breakfast in bed

as an exclamation mark upon this day that's his

he sings his instructions to the little folk

in operatic climes

he cares for the babies, desecrated and left for dead

and his name stands for them

and for all the souls who knew not

a man like him

as men should be.

Then comes home

he makes me dinner

he brings me to dance in the kitchen

and I know the bounds of compassion

are too far off

for me to ever fall off

before his strong arm peels me back

and it's not even 8 pm

and he tucks the babies into sleep

and walks the dog

and does the dishes

and gives me space

and bids us pray

and bids me come

to all that's sweet

before becoming my night time sentinel

the caretaker of my life

the angel who measures my breath

as I live off of his

and shares the covers and sacrifices pillows

and hours

only to rinse, lather, repeat.

And Oh! world, if you only knew

how far you have to aspire

and Oh! my gosh

I really need to step it up a notch

(or a few hundred) in repayment.

You might enjoy this video. It's awfully inspiring and beautiful and simply told. My Jude is every bit as wonderful and committed and strong as this man. My Jude is the kind of man who cleans up another kid's poop that's been smeared about in the men's bathroom at the church, not once, but TWICE. (Yes, friends, it happened again.) He is the kind of man who makes me believe in God because oh, Lord, I know he was sent to protect and to love me and my babies. He is the kind of man who turns around and drives the other way so that Lulu can see the little weiner dogs on the sidewalk because she was the only one who couldn't see them out the window as we drove home. And he's the kind of man who says that, Yes, we can adopt Mariah should something ever happen to her parents because, oh my, he knows I love that little girl so much, and then says that we can adopt any child we know who needs it.

And I share this not to brag but because some people have the ability to inspire us all to betterness, to becoming something, and they don't need recognition for themselves but for us.

Daily Gratitudes

1. My skirt fit better today than before.
2. I love my local church peeps soooo much.
3. I have a pretty easy church calling.
4. When I'm feeling down about how incredibly ugly our backyard looks, Jude says that our yard, unlike our neighbors', is a work of art, of the utmost creativity. The brown pee spots tell a story, where their yards are a blank canvas of cold inhumanity. Or something like that.
5. Jude is patiently, patiently waiting for me to make him a nice supper, after he patiently let me have a long nap. I love that I know he won't get mad at me or grumble about how slow-going I am. Phewf.

Comments

[JJ]

That was wonderful. Jude is definitely one of the best ones.

[Lou]

beautiful

[John B]

Hard time trying to choose my favourite expression, but I have one: the caretaker of my life.

Love it.

[Susan]

Beautiful, Natasha. I feel privileged to have a glimpse of your marriage. A person can do a lot if they feel their efforts are noticed and appreciated.

[Cheyenne]

Lovely!

[Sam]

Thank you.

[JQ]

I LOVE to hear people brag. Did you know that in the space of 4 days I got royally told off like I've never been before in my life for bragging AND strongly lectured to against making too many "self depreciating" comments? What the carp?

[Natasha]

LOL. That's weird.

Some people brag in such a way that it makes them sound like they're trying to arouse jealousy. That's how I define "bragging", actually. I never want people to feel jealous and I know you're cognizant of that too, very much so. So, you tell them that I said they're wrong.