Love looks like bringing the garbage can back from the road without me having to ask,

Placing your hand on my back when the baby wakes up 45 minutes after we go to bed, a physical “I’m sorry this is hard,” 

Getting up with the baby, even though we both know he wants me and only me,

Never, ever, complaining about what I make for dinner, even when it’s bad,

Waking me up an hour early so we can take a bath together before the kids get up,

Checking on the noise I’m sure I heard outside at 2 AM,

Wrapping your arms around me when I get back in bed for the 4th time of the night, pulling me to you, somehow sensing me in your sleep,

Kissing me goodbye every morning, even when we argued over breakfast, even when you’re late for work,

Calling me while you’re driving just to talk about your day, the way you did when we were dating and living on opposite sides of a high mountain pass, 

Siding with me (but also telling me I’m wrong sometimes),

Still finding me sexy after 3 babies and 12 years together,

Watching Friday Night Lights, and Grey’s, and Virgin River, because the shows you like are too scary and dark for me,

Encouraging me to invest time and money into myself,

Putting my happiness before your own, even though I’m not always so good at doing the same,

Always including me in the conversation, even when you forget to introduce me,

Remembering to wear your boot scoots in the house so you don’t track mud on my freshly mopped floors, 

And a million other tiny, trivial moments.

This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Love Looks Like".