I Married a Hottie

So the other day I was reminiscing about my Dad and some of the little "gems" of wisdom he had imparted to his children over the years and I had to smile at the two that came to mind:

*You don't want to wake up in the morning next to a "sweet spirit". Meaning a person can be as spiritually "special" as they come, but if they have a face like a horse, that will soon wear on you.

*Attraction may not be #1 on your list of things you want in a spouse, but hopefully, it is #2.

Now to some, these words of advice may seem superficial, but they have served me well through life and this is how:

I don't know if it's just a peculiarity of mine, but when I dated in high school there were times that certain physical traits of a person would drive me so crazy that I would secretly hate them for a few days and have to avoid them as to not make myself gag or say something mean. There was one young man who had an abnormally large adam's apple and there were times when it was ALL I could see when I talked to him. "WHY oh WHY did it have to be so enormous?!" I would think to myself. There was another person I dated that would regularly get chapped lips and so his lips looked two times their regular size and I would have to make up excuses to not see him until his chapped lips subsided back to their normal size. I was plagued by feelings of anger and disgust. Now I realize that this may seems arrogant to some because it's not like I don't come with my own flaws, but it's something I couldn't seem to help and so when I continued looking for a husband, my Dad's wise words of advice frequently made their way into the forefront of my mind.

Then Robert enters my life. He was so good looking that my Mom for the first few years assumed that because he was so handsome, he couldn't possible have any other redeeming qualities and would often ask, "He's good looking, but what ELSE does he have?" To which I would rattle off all of his other amazing traits and she would give me that look like, "Suuuure."

This advice has been so helpful to me over the 15 years we have been married! I can honestly say that no physical feature on his face or body has ever caused me to gag, avoid him, or hate him for any period of time. In fact, there are times that I let him off a little easy because of his charm and absolute gorgeousness. I know that his looks weren't #1 on my list, but THANK HEAVENS it was a close second. Thanks Dad! Oh, and I can't remember what the #1 thing on my list was . . .