Monday

The Best Time of the Day

Something happens {nearly} every day at {almost} the same time.


The phone rings.

The kids and I stop what we are doing: I put dinner on hold, the homework is paused, the toddler clinging to my leg, relents.

We walk out the front door.

And we sit on the driveway.  And we wait.

We wait for a noise.....oh, do you hear it?  It's distant, but it's coming closer, yes, that's definitely it!

At the sound of the honking horn, we stand up and look towards the end of the street. We jump up and down and wave. The toddler does a little dance. The neighbors point and stare.

Because someone is coming home! He pulls slowly into the crowded driveway and rolls down his window.  He scoops up the toddler thru the open window and she helps him park the car. The older kids begin their verbal recount of the day to their daddy.

And I kiss my man.

And after being gone all day and working hard, we honor him by greeting him.

It's the best time of the day.

(When I was a newlywed, a wise woman told me that she always stopped whatever she was doing to greet her husband when he walked thru the door. I remember mentally scoffing the old fashioned idea. It's funny how it's become one of my favorite traditions. Plus, I think they call it reinforcements.)

Food for the Soul:
Psalm 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and 
honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

56 comments:

Tammy said...

How sweet! :-)

And I love the pacifier with the teeth.

Muthering Heights said...

That's the best time of the day here too! Even if he has to work at home, it's so nice just to have the husband in the same place - it brightens the whole house!

heidi said...

Love it! Reminds me of a part from Winnie the Pooh when WTP says "It's the best part of the day! The part when you and me, becomes 'we'!"

Anonymous said...

That is extremely sweet and encouraging!

Kate said...

I make sure to always greet my Hubby with a kiss too. And the kids always rush out to the porch to greet Daddy. It's a nice thing, being happy to have our family back together at the end of the day.

Anonymous said...

That is so great!! I miss greeting my husband when he comes home from work. It's a great reminder for when he comes home from his deployment. Oh, and there will be much celebration when that happens!

PastormacsAnn said...

That is just too sweet for words!

Anonymous said...

You know in the hustle and bustle of life, I nearly miss the car in the garage all together. I'm not sure if I want to be like that or not. but I feel really honored that you would share your family's special moments with me.

Take care,
Cathy

tam said...

Wow!!! Thank you, I really needed to hear that. No kids here, but I need to do that.

Lori said...

Sometimes I think I hear the Indiana Jones theme when the hubby comes home - the calvary is here!

emily freeman said...

Yay! I love this post! My husband loves to be greeted as well. Who wouldn't? What a wonderful tradition :) (Came over through Kimbas blog)

Kristi said...

That made me cry -- I will start tonight!

Lorie said...

That made me cry, too (of course, I am 9 months pregnant so lots of things make me cry easily). I don't greet my husband like that everyday, but I think I'm going to begin doing that tonight. What a great tradition! Thanks so much for sharing.

aussie gardening in America said...

Love it, we try and do the same here, maybe I should try harder though!!

Charlotte said...

I just loved your story so much, I had to write my own memory!

Lisa said...

What an example you are my friend. You touch so many lives, you lead by example, you guide and direct by simple words and deeds. I am so glad I have found you, glad you share such details of your life, honored to have you part of my support circle even though I am much older, I am so honored to have such a sweet spirit to start my day...every day!

Monkey Giggles said...

Great advice. Hubby and I work together all day everyday so there is no greeting at the end of a work day. What is a person to do? BE CREATIVE.

Unknown said...

What a great idea to pass on! We pretty much do this already but my husband's commute is a "beast" so we are usually at the dinner table by the time he walks in. But we get up and run to him, yes we do! : )

mommagurl32 said...

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Mama Said said...

Greeting DH is an awesome way to honor him! I try, but I have a really hard time stopping what I'm doing. Thanks for the inspiration to do better!

Kristen, if you have a chance, stop by and check out my Jane Fonda-esque Halloween costume. I think you'll get a kick out of it. Of course, I didn't dare call it Jane Fonda after you Google experience! LOL!
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Tales From the Eurovan said...

I'm with you on this one. We try as much as possible every day to greet daddy when he comes home from work. (unless it's 1am!) I stop what I am doing as well. It's great fun and I know my husband loves it too. We also go out and do the goodbye too when he leaves for work. Everyone goes out and walks him to the car, give our kisses, say our goodbyes and wave as long as we can see him. Good stuff.
Take care,
Julie

Dee said...

that is really nice.

Deanna said...

This is my favorite time of day too. My husband is my best friend and my heart still beats a little faster when I hear his keys in that door.

Dawn @ simply transparent said...

my kids are hilourious every afternoon/eve when dh gets home..I think it makes coming home for him that much better and when I stop and particapate it sets the mood for the night...good reminder.

Connie said...

Dang. You just messed up my perfectly applyed make up.

I love how the kids run to the door when they hear the garage door go up!

And I agree....it is the best part of the day!

Poof said...

When mine were little, we always greeted daddy at the door, too. One time, my 22 month old got hit by the opening door and smashed up against the wall. Poor thing.

Christine said...

The kids still run to the door when daddy comes home but I realize now how I've slacked a bit in the "greeting my husband at the door" area. Thanks for the reminder and the encouragement.

Robin said...

I have to admit I haven't been very good at this, but it's something I have decided to work on. The hard part for us is he comes home at a different time every day - some days 3pm, some days 5pm, some days 7pm, some days 11pm when we are all asleep. Thanks for the reminder.

Kirsten said...

My favorite time of the day too!

Anonymous said...

I love this idea...how sweet!

Valarie Lea said...

That is awesome! You are truly blessed to be able to do that. :)

Anonymous said...

Nice post! So true how the kids want there daddy to come home and love to greet him. I need to make my greeting him more of a priority. Thanks for the message.

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The Apron Queen said...

I really needed this advice today. Thank you.

cajungal01 said...

We do this all the time too (except for scooping up the toddler in the window part!)! It's a GREAT tradition and we all love it!
:0)

Unknown said...

Kristen - this is wonderful! So simple and yet so important. This is a very good reminder for me. I'm glad you shared it.

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Hi Inspired room, led me here.

Great story..my husband works overseas a lot, so I always greet him at the door, no matter what time he arrives home..:-)

Anonymous said...

I love the cell phone aspect of your tradition. How convenient is that? Great idea!

Tracee Sioux, Sioux Ink: Soul Purpose Publishing said...

wow everyday. It's my goal to put down what I'm doing and say hello.

The Sullivan Sitcom said...

What an awesome tradition! Thanks for sharing!

Sassy Gal said...

This is so special. Especially after reading about the hardships you and your hubs have weathered. What an act of servanthood! We are adding this to our day....thanks for inspiring!

D... said...

So so sweet. What a wonderful thing to come home to.

My man works nights so he comes home to house full of sleeping people. This made me feel sad for him. Give your man an extra kiss from me. ;)

Kim H. said...

My husband and I carpool to and from work together - so does it count if we hold hands all the way?!

Melissa said...

A great reminder that I should be doing that. I know I stop to kiss him & say how was your day. But giving him attention fully is lacking on most days. What a wonderful post!

Hesses Madhouse said...

I LOVE this! Thank you for sharing such a great idea. We've just started all walking out onto the porch early in the morning to say good bye to my husband and oldest daughter as he drives her to school and himself off to work for the day. He commented the other day how much he loves that. I'm totally going to implement your ideas here!

My dad used to call my mom everyday to tell her he was on his way home, but I realized, all these years later, that it was so that the garage door would be open for him. I still thought it was sweet that he would call her everyday.

misty said...

you are such a good story teller. and what good strong solide advice. thank you!

Anonymous said...

We have a very similar tradition in our house. We watch out the window, you can tell his car pulls in when the dog starts barking (she has a certain bark that means, "Daddy's home" and the kids all get their instruments (yes you read that right) my son get the snare drum or his toy guitar, my toddler always get the tambourine, and my "baby" get the maracas or she just claps her hands and we run to the gate at the top of the stairs and all song, "Yea Daddy, Yea, Wo-hee-who-he-who" over and over and hubby comes bouncing up the stairs to hug and kiss us all. It is the best part of the day for all of us. I agree fully, our hubbies deserve that honor and attention.

Anonymous said...

How did I miss this post? I need to do this. The kids greet him with crazy happiness but I continue to scramble to get dinner on the table. I shall rethink this!

Anonymous said...

I love this post! I just tweeted it! Your husband is blessed to have you guys and you are wise to show your love and appreciation to him this way.

thediaperdiaries said...

I was given this advice too and frankly suck at it a lot. But it is great advice and when we do it, is quite wonderful. Thanks for the reminder :)

Solei said...

Awww, that's so sweet!!!

We do that too, but not actually go out and wait for him at the door, but when he walks in we stop what we're doing and greet him with hugs and kisses.

I agree, a very good part of the day!

Carrie Thompson said...

I love this. I usually jump up when he comes home but unless the kids are down stairs they dont! I love that you do it together!

Nancy said...

That is just WONDERFUL. I need to start doing this as well.

Jaime said...

How sweet! I love this post! I have stumbled you:)

Emily ~ Little Window Shoppe said...

What a great post! I really like this tradition.

Anonymous said...

What a great tradition. That's so sweet!

Kimberly said...

My hubby just sent me the link to this post, I am sure in a loving hintful way. Sometimes I get so caught up in fixing dinner and controlling temper tantrums and warding off fights that I don't even hardly say hello when he walks in. I am gonna try this -- thanks for sharing!!!