Love sticks

By Mir
September 18, 2008

I’m still sick and pitiful, so this will be a quick one, but it’s one that I’ve been meaning to write about for a while.

Long ago—before we were engaged, even, I think—one time Otto was visiting us for the weekend and Chickadee was flitting around with a bunch of craft supplies and stuck a butterfly sticker on his shirt. She thought this was hilarious. Because, it was a sparkly butterfly! On a great big MAN! SO FUNNY!

I expected Otto to dispose of the sticker at his earliest convenience, though he humored her at the time by thanking her rather elaborately for the nice gift. This made her laugh even more, of course.

I promptly forgot about the entire thing, and so when I was visiting him next and saw a small butterfly sticker on the corner of his laptop I was confused.

“Where’d you get THAT?” I asked.

“Chickadee gave it to me,” he said, in a voice that conveyed his amazement that I manage to remember to breathe.

“And you kept it?” I asked, because I was on a roll with the being stupid and all.

“I figured I should,” he said, with a shrug.

And so the butterfly lived on his laptop, a little bit of glitter in his otherwise pristine and unadorned surroundings. It sat there quietly, without fanfare. Just an unexpected addition someone might not even notice.

The time came when Otto needed a new computer, and so he ordered the new one and it came and he transferred his data over and wiped the old computer and sold it. And he transferred the sticker to his new machine. I bet he had to use some glue, even, but he did it. And the new machine—like the old one before it—sports the butterfly in the corner.

Otto is SO not a sparkly butterfly kind of guy. Except that, since joining our family, I guess he kind of is.

Happy Love Thursday, everyone. Here’s to the love that adds just the right amount of sparkle to life.

58 Comments

  1. Kathleen

    >sniff<

  2. Megan

    That is one Ottoriffic man.

  3. jennielynn

    I’m a little teary here. Has Chickie noticed it/mentioned it at all?

  4. Jen

    awww, that Otto, he makes me want a divorce.

  5. Lori

    Wow. What more can any of us say???

  6. laurie

    the butterfly effect.

  7. ATLCheap

    That’s so sweet!

  8. Cele

    That is a special man.

  9. Katie in MA

    Awwww. I can just hear that story in a toast at her wedding. It’s so obvious that your family’s love for each other isn’t just flash. You all make it sparkle and work hard to show the love.

    Happy Love Thursday!

  10. Beachgal

    awesomeness.

  11. Rebecca

    That is so incredibly sweet! I bet that means a lot to Chickadee too. Just wow!

  12. Jess

    As a stepkid (on both sides, no less), I have to say that Otto is a wonderful, wonderful guy.

    Not that this comes as a surprise to readers of this blog. :)

    Feel better!

  13. Karen

    He’s definitely a keeper, that Otto!

  14. Dawn

    maybe Otto should give seminars to other men on how to be more ottoish!

    you are one lucky lady!

  15. Tatiana

    That’s adorable :] What a sweet daddy!

  16. elizabeth

    I big pink puffy heart Otto.

  17. Barbara

    SWEET!

  18. Burgh Baby

    I’m pretty sure that all the world over, there are women going, “Awwwwwwww . . . that’s so sweet!” as they read that. I know I did.

  19. All Adither

    He’s so totally a keeper.

  20. The Other Lori

    Take some cold medicine and thank the man properly for being so wonderful…

    And by that I mean fix him a nice dinner. What did you think I meant?

  21. A Mama's Rant

    Awwww. Can you clone him?

  22. Deb

    Very nice! You have a great one there ;-) Happy Love Thursday.

  23. Melinda

    That was just what I needed to hear today. I adore Love Thursday. Thanks for sharing the love, Mir. Feel better soon!

  24. dad

    2, 4, 6, 8.
    Who do we appeciate?
    Otto. Otto,
    YEA!

  25. Randi

    Awww! You know you’ve got the right guy when he keeps a sparkly butterfly sticker given to him by his step-daughter.

  26. Sheila

    *smiling to myself, adding a shake of the head for good measure*

  27. Jennifer Suarez

    That is one of the sweetest things I have EVER read. Yay Otto!

  28. Jamie AZ

    So thoughtful of him!

  29. Kristy

    how sweet of him!!

  30. Ani

    Chickie may not have said anything, but I bet she’s noticed. And it means the world to her. Not that she would admit it. Ever. Until she’s 25. :-) Kids, aren’t they grand?

    Good job Otto

  31. Kendra

    That is one amazing man you have there but I’m sure you know that already.

  32. Asianmommy

    Oh–that is so sweet! He’s a keeper. :)

  33. Headless Mom

    That is simply awesome!

  34. dgm

    Thanks for sharing the love.

  35. Liz

    I’m just so glad to see that not only did he transfer the sticker, but he uses a Mac. :)

  36. Kai

    That is TOO sweet!

  37. zandor

    Awww. That’s so sweet.

  38. Heather

    Awww! Definitely a keeper, that one :)

  39. Susan

    That is just beautiful, Mir.

  40. juliness

    Know what? I needed to hear this love story today.

    Go Otto!

  41. J from Ireland

    Oh my God, how lovely is he. He is a keeper Mir. Happy Love Thursday.

  42. The Other Other Dawn

    He may not be a sparkly butterfly kind of guy, but he is a salt-of-the-earth, hang-on-tight-to-him kind of guy.

    Just the kind pretty Mir deserves.

    Hope you’re feeling better soon.

  43. Jessica (from It's my life...)

    I mean I loved Otto before this post, but now I’m even more enamored. He’s special that one.

  44. bogartg

    Hello, Pretty Mir!
    Greetings from the Houston, Texas, area where Hurricane Ike left us all in a daze. As an evacuee, (thank you, Jamie, for providing a safe haven for us!) I was allowed to return to my home in La Porte yesterday where electricity just came on. My kids and I were among the lucky ones that sustained little damage to our home. After I cleaned my refrigerator and raked 11 bags of leaves, rain gutter debris, and piled more branches on the curb, I powered up the computer and caught up on your blog. Your blog was the little bit of normal for the day. When I realized that today was love Thursday, I lost it. Thanks for the reminder.

  45. just beth

    Otto rocks.

    And from your description(s) of him, I ADORE how the sparkly butterfly is so straight and evenly placed. :-)

    Congrats on a fantabulous fella.

    xo

    b.

  46. Kelly

    Oh my gosh, that makes me all warm and fuzzy, how sweet!

  47. Trisha

    Otto is a real man! How sweet! Does Chicadee know the sticker is there? I am sure it means a lot to her even if she never says anything.

  48. Ali B.

    This post made me so happy.

  49. Vicki

    AAAAWWWW, I’m overloaded on sweet!! That is so awesome. I’m glad you have found someone so sweet to your little ones. Way to go!!

    And Otto, that is just awesome. You rock!!

  50. Aimee

    Otto just won the sweet contest! Yay, Otto!

  51. dad

    The comment from bogartg should be enough incentive to keep you pounding out posts for a long time.
    As I have oft said, Thursdays are my favorite.

  52. Shalet

    What a warm and fuzzy thing to do. You’ve got yourself a keeper!

  53. Rachel

    Did you think “I need to marry this man” when he said “I figured I should”??? = ) Otto is a lucky man… and you, Chickie & Monkey are lucky to have him.

    Hope you’re feeling better today.

  54. Alisha

    awwww!!! ((tear)) can you come pick out a guy for me since you have such amazing luck and taste?

  55. Stefanie

    Awww, that is just too sweet. That reminds me of a story when I was a little kid. I barely remember this, but apparently when my grandmother went to Texas and took me and my sister I got these little Lisa Frank kitty stickers (you know, the technicolor ones?), and I just adored these stickers. So, shortly before my mom and dad divorced when I was 8, I decided to put one (I think it was purple, but I can’t remember) on my dad’s very favorite belt buckle.
    Visitation was pretty much nonexistent, so I didn’t know until many years later that not only did he keep that sticker on the buckle until it wore off, it’s the thing that struck up a conversation between him and my now-stepmom (who I love to teeny tiny bits). Even now, when I’m 21, the buckle bears a tiny bit of residue from the sticker. :)

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