“Everyone has some kind of beef with their spouse. Whether you hate how messy they are or how they chew their food, there’s something about them that will always bug you. But, you’re loyal, so you stick with them anyway. This is the small stuff we’re talking about.
The beef with my spouse? He’s a hoarder.
And–you won’t believe this–with the pandemic now coming on, his hoarding skills have made him a hero.
A couple years ago, we moved from a big city to a smaller one. He works for the state and was allowed to transfer to a similar job in a new location.
In our old house, we had a shed that was his and his alone. I didn’t dare go in there except when I was desperate to pull something out of the freezer. I let that be his ‘man cave,’ and he could put whatever he wanted out there.
Though it was painful to look at, this compromise worked for me so I could keep a relatively organized household while he could store things he felt had value.
When we moved, I asked him to go through his shed and only take what we absolutely needed. In the weeks leading up to our move, he spent a lot of time out there trying to sort and organize, but, alas, he couldn’t part with most of the things he’d stored.
Moving day came, and while I had packed up the house with the help of a couple friends, he still was not ready to let go of the things in his shed. It was a difficult day, to say the least.
One of the things he insisted on keeping were a couple boxes of masks. MASKS. Not just any mask, but military-grade, N-95 masks.
His brother had given the masks to family members after saving them from a surplus sale at Camp Williams in Utah. There were thousands.
Fast forward to now. My husband still works for the state. He is a first responder who works with multiple agencies throughout the region. None of them have masks to protect themselves. I mean, NONE.
And so, my dear hoarding husband gave away his entire supply of N-95 masks to the first responders who had none.
When he was out of masks, he drove four hours to meet his brother to get the last of his brother’s stash and disperse those, too.
He–and his brother–provided first responders with protection when they couldn’t protect themselves.
- I am so proud of him.
- I am so glad he kept those masks. While it seemed like a burden at the time to haul a bunch of masks we would never use, it gives me a great deal of satisfaction knowing first responders can help others and protect themselves–and their families–at the same time.
This is an exclusive story to Love What Matters. For permission to use, email Exclusive@LoveWhatMatters.com.
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Alene Laney. Do you have a similar experience? We’d like to hear your important journey. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
Read more stories like this:
Do you know someone who could benefit from this story? Please SHARE on Facebook or Twitter.