A Full Life

Recently someone commented that very often when I take part in a conversation I have knowledge of the subject because of something my husband has done. I put some thought into this and realized she is right.
Much of what I know I have learned just by living with my husband.
My husband lives, has lived the fullest life of anyone I know.
As a child his dad was a high ranking officer in the Army, his sister is a high ranking Navy nurse, and uncles were in the military.  My husband knows quite a bit about the military.  My husband worked for 30 years in law enforcement, he knows about that.  While I was an "at home mom" learning everything I could about raising healthy, happy children, he was working over 80 hours a week.  Some of that was extra law enforcement work (Off Duty work). But much of it was other stuff.
Many weekends he worked with a friend who was a licensed contractor and did roofing. He poured concrete, he built room additions, designed landscapes, and built fences.  He did this for extra money and for friends and family. When someone he cared about was diagnosed with leukemia he started a wine tasting and a softball tournament to raise money for the Leukemia Foundation. He ran these for several years. Our local Make-a-Wish foundation still runs the wine tasting though I doubt they even know who started it all those years ago. The Leukemia Foundation has an office in Sacramento because of my husband and his friend's efforts all those years ago.
When my husbands mother had the need we moved in with her and provided hospice care for her. He stood by the bedside of the friend he had done much of the construction work with as he died at 35 years old of cancer.  He held me when my mother passed away. He knows about losing those you love.
In addition to all these things he still made time to be a great dad and husband.
He has rebuilt and repaired cars. He and a friend saw a community need in an aging neighborhood and organized to remove diseased and dying trees in our area for no cost. They removed over a hundred trees. They worked with the company that handles electricity in our area who provided free trees for replanting, and many times did the actual planting or arranged for someone else to plant them. He knows a lot about trees. 
He loves wine and cigars and knows about them. He knows how to set up rental agreements as he has helped both of my kids as they became adults. He, personally, does our taxes each year.  He is active in the community and is working on our area becoming its own city in order to give our community more say in zoning and law enforcement issues. He is learning about politics. He is king of the barbeque grill.
Most evenings a group of neighborhood men will gather in our back yard. They sit and chat about mutual interests, the neighborhood, life, and share a few beers. He knows how to be a good friend and has a huge number of friends who respect and care about him. He helps a homeless, mentally and now physically ill, lady that lives in a van in a nearby business parking lot. He has helped her for many years and, as she is now suffering a terminal illness, is the one she trusts to handle her last requests and burial.
He has done "heavy lifting" for just about everyone we know at one time or another.  I do not know everything he knows, but thanks to him I do know a little bit about all of these things.
My husband is not a college graduate, but knows more about the most important and necessary things in life than anyone else I know. He is not a "jack of all trades", rather he is a master of many.
How much have I learned from my husband? More than I ever realized.
I go through life feeling pretty grateful. Looking at this I think he makes this a pretty easy thing to do.
He has made my life full.