Mondays are for LOVE!

Thanks, Dan, for being a wonderful husband and father!

My husband rocks because he has no feet.

Um, did you just say, no feet?

Yep, that's right, no feet!

The one area of the human body that I cannot stand is the feet. There is something about those wiggly, stinky toes that drives me crazy. Just ask my three boys. They know that touching mommy with their feet is forbidden!

In 1996, my roommate Christy, set me up on a blind date. She had met Dan several weeks earlier and kept talking about him. I teased her about liking him but she said, "He's not my type, actually, he's your type." After I agreed to the blind date she said, "By the way, he has no feet." I immediately thought, "A guy with no wiggly, stinky toes, could it really be true?! How could I be so lucky?"

Dan was born in the late 60's before ultrasounds were common. His parents were surprised at his early arrival and even more surprised to learn that he was missing bones in both ankles and feet.

He had one toe on his left foot and two toes on his right.

Within a year Dan's deformed feet were amputated in hopes that he could be fitted with prosthetics. Babies do not know what is normal, so by age one Dan was up and running on his stumps. Shortly after his first birthday he received his first pair of artificial legs. His mom said he cried when they first strapped them on but within a week he was running around the house.

17 months old

Over the years Dan has stayed active. He loves to bike, ski and walks normal. Most people cannot tell he has artificial legs unless he is wearing shorts. I remember a lady at our church being shocked to learn about Dan's legs, since she had known him for six years. Dan said the hardest part about growing up was Jr. High. Poor guy, the kids were merciless and he was teased about his legs. In retrospect, Dan says that if it wasn't the legs he would have been teased about something else.

In the 15 years that I have known Dan he has never once complained about his legs. I know he deals with physical pain on an ongoing basis. His stumps get sore, he deals with skin irritation because of the liners and he cannot take long walks without occasionally sitting to rest. Being a double amputee, even from birth, has its struggles. Dan's attitude about life is amazing! I admire him so much. Sure, there are times when he "takes advantage" of having two artificial legs like when we are resting on the couch and the doorbell rings. Dan will proceed to kick a leg off and grin at me with a twinkle in his eye. He makes me laugh. He is not sensitive about his amputation and often jokes about his "fake legs".

I think my husband rocks because he has no feet! I love his amazing attitude about life, living it the way God intended for him. Also, I love the fact that I never feel his wiggly toes or smell his stinky feet. He is perfect for me! I am SO lucky that God gave me a husband with no feet.

A few months ago I decided to be more intentional about praising Dan. Marriage is hard and I am selfish. To fight for our marriage I decided that Mondays are for LOVE! Check out those posts to see all the OTHER reasons that My Husband Rocks!

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