That I love Mikey. I’ve always said that there is nothing quite like watching your husband love your children. When he hugs Jake, it feels like he’s hugging me. Yes, it’s true that having Jake has changed the dynamic of our marriage. Drastically. In ways I couldn’t imagine. Sometimes we have to make an effort to stay connected, so much has this little person intertwined himself between us.

Jake is in his last camp of the summer. It’s a one week course on Space and Astronomy. He is fascinated by it, and two days ago, informed us of a meteor shower that would streak the sky that night. In his child speak, he explained that it was an event that couldn’t be missed. And that it would happen in the middle of the night. He would be asleep, but could he watch?

Michael did a quick Google and found that it would be in full view at 4 AM. “Oh well,” I said. There was no way I was interrupting my sleep to stare at blackness in the middle of the night. “But it’s important to him,” said Michael. “It’s something I need to do for him.”

So we set the alarm for 4 AM. It blared in my ear as I mechanically pounded on the alarm. I was already back to sleep while Michael rousted Jake, and they took their places in the front yard. At 4:30, I woke up suddenly. Maybe it was too quiet. Or because I was alone in our bed. I crept through the silent house, cracked the front door, and saw Michael first. Then Jake. They were sitting on lawn chairs, peering up together at the clear, night sky. “Hi mom,” said Jake, wide awake, as if it was mid afternoon.

It wasn’t an extraordinary moment. Or maybe something that a million parents wouldn’t do if it was important to their kids. But for me in that moment, it was my idea of a perfect husband. Someone who would give up sleep to do something important to a 6 year old boy.

It’s just another reason.