photo of a man and a woman at a dinner party

Why Bother Thinking About G.O.A.T.?

Why Bother Thinking About G.O.A.T.?

My husband left me. Thankfully only for a week or so while he drives back to his mother’s memorial service in the state he originated from; Nebraska. He’s barely been gone a day and I already miss him. 

          The Greatest of All Time

Though I am not inclined to pay too much attention to the world of sports, my husband does and it is from him that I learned about the acronym G.O.A.T. It stands for; greatest of all times. 

This title is usually reserved for outstanding athletes like Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali, names even the dimmest of sports minded people like me know about. But the term can also be used for others who are also outstanding, such as musicians. But I will stretch the term even further by using it for my husband. Granted, he’s the only husband I’ve ever had, but I can say he is the greatest of all times. 

For an athlete to be great, it takes focus, sacrifice, endurance and a love for the game. I find those same qualities in my husband as well.

When we married and I listened to him repeat his wedding vows to me, “To be my wedded wife to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part,” I knew he meant every word. He has been 100% committed to our marriage from the start. 

 I, on the other hand, eased into it telling him that if we each gave 50% of ourselves to the union, it would be whole. But this was not how he’d thought about it. “We each give our 100 %,” he told me. His point was well made. If I focused only 50% on him and our marriage, where would the other 50% of my focus be?  

After we married, there were a few carefree years before any children arrived. During that season, we recreated together; hiking, fishing, hunting and camping. But once our sons were born, recreating became a thing of our past. Since Luke’s income was our sole revenue, he began working six days a week giving up those weekends for side jobs. For the time it took to raise our sons, Luke rose to the occasion of providing for our family. 

Something I know I will never have to go through is a divorce. Yet, the separation rate is high among my siblings. Six out of seven of us married. Of the six, four divorced. One of my sisters, whose marriage ended after seven years, once asked me, “So what is the secret of your marriage?” 

“My husband.” It was an easy answer. His pace is steady and his demeanor is calm and that is why we’ve been married for so long. 

Finally there is the fond affection that he has for me. He knows me well; my moodiness, my business, my “take the bull by the horns” way of doing things and yet I’ve never scared him away. He knows me best, and stays his best toward me, no matter what I do.

Yes there are some greatest of all time athletes, but I think being a great husband is much more of a challenge. Athletes get paid to be  great, my husband is simply great without the promise of fame or fortune.  

Why bother thinking about G.O.A.T.  It is worth it because it warms one’s heart and makes one smile acknowledging those who are great in our lives. 

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