Life at Le. Rheims: He Never Asks, "Downton What?"

Today, I'm thankful for my husband, who, despite my previous post, still loves me. I'm thankful for a number of reasons, but right now, today, I would have to put two of them at the top of my list: he appreciates Hanson and he watches Downton Abbey. As many women know, these are rarities among men, and for them, I am thankful.

It says Hanson...
For reals.

Tonight, we are going to a concert. Not just any concert, oh no, but a Hanson concert. With our niece. A Hanson concert, my fifth to be precise. One where, despite the aging population of the crowd, no longer full of teenage girls and their parents, but now full of grown women who are the parents, still sounds like it's full of teenage girls. It's an amazing thing, walking into one of these. It's as if every woman there somehow got into the way back machine and landed in 1997 at the age of 15 with her first true (musical) love. We all know we're grownups, but as the strains of Mmmbop start playing, no one feels like it. Amidst the screams of adoration for the three "boys" (now grown men with families of their own), there he'll be; my husband, holding my hand and letting me bounce like a giddy kid whenever my favorites are played (which will be almost every song). He won't just be listening either. He'll be singing along and appreciating the fact that Hanson is more than just their big hits, because he didn't dismiss like them so many others when I said (at the age of well past when most stop admitting it) that my favorite band is Hanson. He gave them a try, and he realized what I already knew: he liked them. And so, for this, a husband who isn't ashamed to admit he likes Hanson enough to go to a concert with me, I am thankful.
As for Downton Abbey, I honestly don't know which of us gets a bigger kick out of it. On Sunday, when he realized that we had to pick between Once Upon a Time and Downtown, I was a little surprised when he picked the one about the landed gentry in early 20th century England over the one about goblins, dragons, and, his usual favorite, swords. While most guys turn and run at the sound of "costume drama", he willingly sits and watches, pays attention, and talks about it later. He knows what Edith did to Mary and how Mary got her back but good. He knows that I have hated Jane since the first moment I laid eyes on her, and why, and he agrees. To put it plainly, he knows who "the Chicken Lady" is, and he loves her. Having someone who is not only willing but happy to watch Masterpiece Theater with me on a weekly basis has basically fulfilled one of my lifelong dreams, and for that, I will be eternally thankful.