A Muppet or a Man?

If you’ve seen the new Muppets movie, you’ll get the reference. Even if you don’t have kids, the movie’s worth seeing just to watch Jason Segal (aka Gary) and his muppet-esque brother Walter perform a heart-wrenching rendition of this song. (And to see Kermit – I love that little green guy.)

The Muppet or a Man song got me thinking about my husband Steven. Is he a muppet or a man?

I’ve got to admit that he certainly has muppetish moments. Like when I say, “The dogs need to be fed,” and two hours later he’s still lounging around on the couch. “Oh, you wanted ME to feed them?” he’ll ask innocently. Uh-huh. I did. Or when he loses his wedding ring for the SECOND time. Every 11 years. Really. He lost the first one about 6 months into our marriage, and he lost the second one this week, 11.5 years into our marriage. Or when he drips chocolate ice cream on the counter and “forgets” to wipe it up. Sounds a bit Fozzie-ish to me.

However, Steven definitely has a manly side. (You’ve heard me brag about his coaching skills already.) During Christmas break, he fixed a leaky toilet and a leaky faucet, painted several rooms in our house, put up new shower fixtures, and cleaned and organized the entire garage. The man is a better organizer than I am! He has that visual-spatial intelligence that I lack. He’s great at envisioning a room in it’s “finished” state. In addition, the guy helps me with the kids, does his own laundry, and loads the dishwasher. How could that not be sexy to the overworked mom/wife?

We’ve also had some great family evenings lately. We’ve played games together, built castles with Legos together, and played charades together. I’ve watched Steven get really involved with the kids and their interests. Helping Ephraim make edible “brains.” Teaching Madeleine a new iPod Touch game.

He even attended a poetry reading with me recently. Poetry. Yeah, I owe him one.

I think I’m gonna go with Man here.

Until the next time I get mad at him at least.

Me and My Muppet - I mean Man