I used to roll my eyes and think he barely lifted a finger. But when I stopped to actually notice, I realized how many little things he’d been doing all along.

I used to roll my eyes and think he barely lifted a finger. But when I stopped to actually notice, I realized how many little things he’d been doing all along.

The trash can was never overflowing because he always tied it up before bed. The lightbulbs never stayed burnt out because he replaced them without being asked. The lawn never got overgrown because he mowed it the second it needed it. None of it came with an announcement — it was just done. And I almost let it stay invisible, like it didn’t matter. That’s the version of me that keeps telling myself I’m carrying everything, until he finally stops trying. But tonight I caught it. The fresh bag in the trash can. The ladder still out from changing the bulb in the hallway. His shoes muddy from cutting the grass. I took a breath and said, ‘Hey… thank you for handling all this. For keeping things together even when I didn’t notice. I see it now.’ He just shrugged, said it was nothing. But it wasn’t nothing. I use an app called ‘quiet effort.’ It keeps me from missing the everyday love that hides in chores.