Today I was again struck with just how incredibly lucky I am. An acquaintance of mine had an abortion last week, because her husband didn't want the baby. She wanted the child. They have two already, and because of her schedule and his (dual military) had no idea how they would have handled another child in these days of frequent deployments and absences. He blamed her for the pregnancy, was constantly putting her down for being sick and tired and not able to do everything like she had before- I still am in awe at how she did it. Working mid-shift, coming home, getting the kids off to daycare, sleeping, ferrying around his brotherinlaw and sister, doing whatever the hell else he wants to- and he was bitching because she couldn't get laundry done, or grocery shopping.

So she had the abortion because he wanted her to, even though she wanted this baby, and now he's still upset with her because she's emotional and still tired, and still upset over the whole thing.

When I compare this to my own husband- when I've been equally sick for unknown reasons over the past several weeks, unable to do much more than care for the baby and drag myself to the couch on some days- he gets up early, cleans the kitchen, takes his full share of baby-wrangling so that I can get some uninterrupted sleep, holds me close when I'm just plain tired of being sick and depressed. He never blames me for being sick, he never wishes out loud that we hadn't had the baby, he never loses his temper with my inability to cope on a weekly basis. It's so odd how I've come to take his behavior for granted, when I used to think that all I deserved was the attitude of my friend's husband. In an ideal world, all men would act like a true partner and loving helpmeet. I am blessed.