Job Description

Caroline was laying on our bed with me the other night when we got to talking about husbands.  "What do you want your husband to be like?", I asked her.

She started rattling off a list of "qualifications", and I grabbed the notebook on our bedside table and started writing each one down.  This girl doesn't mess around, and these are all in her own words.

I can sum up the tone of her list with two observations.  One, she is wisely basing her opinion of what makes a good husband on what she sees her Daddy doing (except maybe for numbers 11 and 18).  And two, jerks or losers or Cardinal fans need not apply for this prestigious position. 

1.  He's funny.
2.  He likes boats.
3.  He never fears animals or nature.
4.  He likes to visit relatives.
5.  He always give me lots of kisses like Daddy gives you.
6.  He loves Jesus so much.
7.  He wants about three children.
8.  He cares for his family.
9.  He is the best fisher.
10.  He likes traveling AND staying home.
11.  He keeps everything tidy.
12.  He is a good builder.
13.  He builds the kids' beds.
14.  He likes to read.
15.  He's a fan of the Cubs.
16.  He is graceful and not mean to people.
17.  When we get married, he swoops me up in his arms.
18.  He does all the diaper changing.
19.  He uses good manners.
20.  He goes to church almost every Sunday.
21.  He needs brothers and sisters, or at least some relatives.
22.  He will sometimes drive the kids to school.
23.  As a Dad, he'll make sure everything is fun and fair.
24.  He'll be kind and considerate to me.
25.  He will be handsome like my Daddy.
26.  Sometimes he'll tiptoe in our rooms at night and give us a kiss while we're sleeping.

Numbers 6 and 24 are my favorites.

I think I'll keep this list handy for when boyfriends start coming around.  In fact, I may just go ahead and convert it into check-list form.   Maybe apply some sort of weighted ranking scheme to it.  It would be a real shame to disqualify a candidate based on lack of fishing or building expertise, but most of the rest of these should stand the test of time.

I just hope the list her future husband is making right now says, "She knows exactly what she wants.  And it's very specific."