lucky me.
just check the bed.
“Do you ever think about how if you and Evan ever split up, everyone would take his side?” Peggy asks me as she steps back on her porch and evaluates the face-framing layers she just cut.
Peggy is my hairstylist, but also one of my best friend’s moms and also she’s known Evan since he was a kid. I didn’t know Peg before she became a hairstylist, so it’s hard to know if she was this good at talking/gossiping before she changed professions or if this is a learned skill that comes with the gig. Either way, I’m here for it and always appreciate her blunt honesty.
She’s not wrong. Since moving back to Jackson, at least once a week, I have a friend, family member, or stranger tell me how incredible my husband (Evan) is. To be fair, he is amazing. (duh, I married him. I got the best one. I win.) Evan has found his calling in life as an oncology nurse and we live in such a small community, so it’s not surprising how many people we know have been in Evan’s care and experience his superpower—empathy.
Still. Sometimes it’s a lot. I even jokingly wrote on the chalkboard: DAYS SINCE I’VE BEEN TOLD HOW LUCKY I AM. The current number is 3. (day’s not over yet, though.) Evan just shakes his head at me and finishes cleaning the kitchen, noting aloud, “You are lucky to have me!”
I say often that as a mom and a wife, I’m more of a personality hire. Example: I absolutely loathe grocery shopping. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it, but I don’t. Evan does. I NEVER go to Costco and the one time I did, I made a video with our daughter, because she’s currently obsessed with this 2012 banger.
This is how I pull my weight around here. Oh, this isn’t helpful at all? Well, I don’t know what to tell you. I also do a LOT of planning and booking trips and buying gifts. Does that count?? Still no??
And it’s not that I disagree with the Evan Fans (we really should come up with some nickname for his fandom… someone help with that), it’s the implications of the word “lucky.” What am I chopped liver?? Like I’m a troll of a human—inside and out—who won a lottery and Evan was forced to marry me.
Sometimes I feel like the older women will wax poetic about my husband and I’ll keep saying, “I know, Evan’s great” and they keep going, thinking that I’ll finally be like, “Okay, fine, you can have him. But take good care of him, okay??” And lord knows they would take better care of him than me, but I swear he wouldn’t laugh as much! And Evan’s laugh is the best sound in the world. So I’d be depriving people of that!
Unfortunately, recently, our daughter had an upset stomach the other night and awoke shortly after going to bed and ran straight to the bathroom. She had a diarrhea accident. Evan—the nurse—immediately got his purple gloves on and started cleaning up. I checked in on our daughter, making sure she knew it was okay that accidents happen and we’ll try to make her belly feel better. In the kitchen, away from our kid who was still on the toilet, Evan asked me to open the trash so he could throw away the underwear and I did, but I gagged a little and put my shirt up over my nose. Evan laughed, disappointingly, and said, “Oh my god… You are lucky to have me.”
Evan and I both stood in the bathroom doorway, checking on our daughter. Ev asked her, “Sweetheart, did you make it to the bathroom before you had the accident or did it happen in the bed?”
She paused for a few beats and then put her head down and said, “Papa, just check the bed.”
I immediately bit both my lips, trying not to smile or laugh. Evan started laughing in a defeated way, before asking, “Excuse me?”
“I think what she meant to say,” I interjected, “………Papa, just check the bed.”
Our kid got all cleaned up and Evan got fresh sheets on her bed (after checking it) and went back to sleep.
In a quiet moment with Evan, in the kitchen after an absolute bedtime fiasco that somewhere along the line became normal, I hug Evan and tell him, “We really are so lucky to have you. Just check the bed.”
Evan laughed—the sweetest sound—and hugged me tight.
Luckily, in our relationship, with no chatter from the outside world, Evan and I have a very symbiotic lucky disposition. We both feel lucky… but he has to verbally assure me he feels lucky, while I have to make sure he gets knocked down a few pegs if the chalkboard count is below 1. At the end of it all, we’re a great team.
Honestly, y’all, it’s just hard for me to not be the favorite sometimes… even if my favorite is everyone’s favorite… not that anyone’s choosing favorites.
But, damn, do I feel lucky. Even (especially) after nights when a teammate literally shits the bed.
Back on the porch, mid haircut, I don’t have to wait any beats before I answer the question, “Peggy, I think about it ALL the time.”
Quick Hits:
Jam Of The Week: Block Party – Love Bombs.
(god, doesn’t this feel like we’re all hanging out in 2007 again? even if we didn’t know each other then, this song feels like we’re all there together. again.)The Reasons Trans Girls Should Be Banned From Sports.
(I’m so fired up about this right now, so buckle up. trans people are way more likely to die by suicide than they are to even WANT to compete in sports. 1 in 5 trans youth consider suicide. 10 trans girls out of 105,000 girls are actively playing sports in the US. this is not protecting our youth. this is a distraction… from what tho? join me in donating to the Trevor Project.)The Real Revolution.
(I just want the world to be safe for the frail and vulnerable.)Fattify Your Feed.
(all bodies are good bodies. be nicer to yours! –me to me. also, unfortunately, me.)I Think I Really Want This Bracelet.
(MARCIE.)The Perfect Watch Party.
(we’ve been watching a lot of world cup in this household. the shoot-outs are SO STRESSFUL.)Wearing This Skirt Almost Every Day.
(mine was actually from Target, but it’s sold out! they look a lot the same. daydreaming about wearing it with this top.)HOROSCOPES FOR THIS WEEK.
(I really felt the Strawberry Full Moon and now I’m feeeeeling this horoscope.)Some Of These Are GREAT Travel Hacks.
(some are ridic.)If My Work Life Was A Ring.
Summmmmmerrrrrr!! Let’s go. I’m so happy you’re here. Nay, I’m LUCKY you’re here. 😜 Thank you. If you like it and you think other people might enjoy my writing, share it! 95% of my content is FREE and any kind of subscription/like/share/comment helps. (though, paid subscribers are true angels on earth and they will get beautiful blessings through their whole summer 2026 and beyond… it’s science.)
xxo,
Rachel.
This video makes me feel like everyone is having more fun than me