Little Things Mean A Lot

There are two things in this world which stand out as provoking serious trepidation in my heart.

Confined spaces…

And ironing.

No, seriously. I HATE to iron. Why the world isn’t comprised of wrinkle-free fabrics I will never know. I would live happily ever after in those clothes you see on QVC that can go into a suitcase and come out looking fabulously smooth, if they didn’t all look like something I should wear to a disco. There is only one small problem with my “no ironing” policy.

My husband likes ironed shirts.

True, more often than not he chooses a comfy t-shirt and jeans over dressier styles, but on occasion he needs (or wants) to appear more swank—even more so now that he has a new job. I suppose he could do his own ironing, but there is a part of me that honestly wants to be able to do this for him because he works hard and it’s a little thing that means a lot to him (not unlike sorting his socks, but that’s a whole other story).

Putting aside my tendency to leave off doing the laundry until the last second (just ask my husband), I confess to occasionally going to great lengths to avoid ironing. I’m not exactly sure where my dislike originated (although the frustration of putting wrinkles into clothes rather than removing them may play a significant role) but I have the feeling it could be genetic. My husband, whose mother is like the Ironing Guru, has even endeavored to teach me how to effectively remove wrinkles from his nicer shirts, but I am simply incapable of the task.

Over the years, I’ve never purposefully lost the iron or anything associated with it, but didn’t necessarily lament its sudden disappearance a few years ago.

Even so, I have recently started a campaign to make sure my husband’s shirts are pressed as well as can be expected when he needs them. Why? Doing little things, such as ironing a shirt when you literally would do anything to avoid the task, for your spouse is a way of speaking love through action. I know the experts tell us that we all have various “love languages.” I’m not disputing that idea in any way. Different people respond to different forms of communication within a relationship, but I’m inclined to believe everyday actions play a role.

Being willing to undertake a task—even once in awhile—that makes life easier for our spouse, can do so much to communicate caring. Words are important. We need to be able to talk to our spouse and listen to him as well, but coupling action with those words goes a long way to impressing truth on top of what we say.

So I may hate to iron (seriously … it’s a skill I cannot master), but it doesn’t matter because I know my husband appreciates the effort. Being willing to undertake the task is one tiny way I can communicate my devotion to him.

And being willing to live with a few wrinkles (and rematch his socks) speaks volumes to me.