I didn’t marry for money. Or into it for that matter. In fact, I met my now-husband when we were in high school and, honestly, money was the furthest thing from my mind.
I was 17, so naturally, the first thing I took notice of was purely physical. Tan skin, dark hair, taller than me, and he drove his own pickup truck? Swoon. He was the total package.
More than a decade has passed since I first laid eyes on the most handsome guy on the planet. While his boyish good looks are certainly not in life’s rearview mirror quite yet, each year we spend together has given me a newfound appreciation for other desirable qualities aside from physical appearance. And I have learned something very important:
Ladies, don’t marry a man because he is attractive. Sure, attraction matters, but the men who make the best husbands aren’t just handsome . . . they’re handy.
You see, handy men fix things.
Marry a man who knows how to fix a broken dishwasher, but can also fix a broken heart. A man who recognizes when he says or does something cutting and immediately tries to heal the hurt. A man who can patch up a relationship just as easily as he can patch up a tire.
Handy men build things.
Marry a man who can build you a home while also building a life. A man who listens to your dreams for the future, managing to turn them into a reality over time. A man who understands that nothing is more important to a home than a firm foundation, placing all of his efforts into making sure it is rock solid.
Handy men know things.
Marry a man who knows the difference between a fuse and a circuit breaker just as clearly as he knows the difference between right and wrong. A man who knows when to give you your space, and when to provide a shoulder to cry on. One who knows you on every level, inside and out.
Finally, handy men do things.
Marry a man who can simply “do”. Do the day-in-day-out responsibilities while also doing what it takes to help your family flourish. A man who understands that what you do together is just as important as what you do apart.
I married my handy man. He is a builder and a carpenter; a father and a role model. A man whose hands are rough and weathered so mine can stay soft and smooth.
Yours may look different. It doesn’t matter if he works with his hands or hires things out. Comes home covered in grease or clean as a whistle. Handy men come in all shapes and sizes.
Marry a man who fixes, builds, knows, and does. The rest will fall into place just beautifully.