Gratitude, Day 13

My husband is 100% testosterone filled male. He likes all things outdoors, anything that will send him down a hill at mock speed, and cars.

He loves any car really, but in particular he loves to take a perfectly suitable, roadworthy SUV and make it as un-roadworthy as possible. The bigger the tires, the better. How high can that lift kit take the body? And the flow master mufflers, oh the roar of the flow master.

I give him a hard time about it on a regular basis. Right now he has two cars. A Dodge Ram that, surprisingly, is still in it's original stock condition, and a Jeep Cherokee that is not, at all. He has cut things off the body intentionally and knocked things off unintentionally; he has altered that car within and inch of it's life, and he loves it. If he tells you differently he is lying.

And I'm sure you can go ahead and guess that this car has it's very own flow master. It's really loud. My step dad says it sounds like a logging truck. The sound can be really irritating at certain times of morning and night. It kind of makes you want to take out the battery and hide it so he can't start the thing. But alas, he loves it, so we all endure.

Over the years though I've come to develop a fondness for the familiar roar of the menace. Since it can be heard from quite a ways it signals early when Andy is near. It's a good signal. When we were dating it let me know that my main squeeze would be in my arms soon and now that we are married it sends me into a quiet anticipation for when he will come through the door. Sometimes I'm not quiet and I run around the apartment telling the bunnies that "Daddy's home!" They never hop around and share my excitement, they just sit and look at me like I've lost my marbles. They're aloof like that.

As much chagrin as that muffler has caused me I've come to appreciate it. Even love it. I don't know what I'll do if he ever decides to just have normal mufflers on his cars.

I'll probably rethink all this when we have kids though. The first time he wakes up a sleeping baby with his car will be a bad day for Andy and the flow master.