Today, I'm thankful for Sarah's emotional labor in: -Waking up in the middle of the night to console Ella, who was having a hard time falling back asleep after a bad dream. -Spending virtually all day snuggling with Ella to make her feel secure after her work trip. Sarah does not typically like being touched, so being the preferred parent for physical comfort takes a lot out of her. -Making sure I felt appreciated for holding it down at home during her work trip. Words of affirmation are not her love language, but she knows that they matter to me.

Today, I'm thankful for Sarah's emotional labor in: - Helping get Ella from being emotionally unsettled at the thought sharing the TV to being ok with having a football game on. - Continuing the emotional prep for Ella (and, to an only slightly lesser extent, me) for her work trip. We've all had a whirlwind week, but Sarah has pushed all the right buttons to get everyone in the best possible headspace. - Giving me some necessary tough love about the emotional "grey zone" I've created with my parents during my dad's ongoing health decline. She's right; I can't be one foot in, one foot out. - Giving me some real talk about the emotional damage I've caused over the past few years that culminated in Ella saying "don't leave me with him" tonight. I'm so mortified.

@Katie Muller and @Jake Muller atop the list again (remember couples combine scores) I'm seeing a lot of great activity in here, would love to hear in the replies, what experience are yall having from your participation?

Today, I'm grateful in Sarah's emotional labor in: -Explaining my pneumonia to Ella in a way that wouldn't overwhelm her or make her worried. -Adding my favorite beverage (root beer) to the grocery list this weekend because she knew that would cheer me up. -Holding off on doing Shabbat dinner last night while I was in urgent care because "it didn't feel right to do it without dad" (brb sobbing 😭) -Taking me at my word as I describe all of my symptoms and provide updates on how I'm doing, even when I'm not articulating it especially well.

Today, I'm grateful for Sarah's emotional labor in: -Making a point to check on my wellbeing this morning despite being under a time crunch to get out the door to go to Ella's kindergarten open house. -Sharing all of her emotions from the open house in a way that allowed me to experience it vicariously -Accepting that I will need to "tap out" on most tasks until I feel better, and emotionally prepping herself to be patient with everyone while she solo parents. -Having to cancel yet another one of her pre-standing plans (Saturday brunch) in response to someone being sick. She's had the worst luck with this since August and has coped with it well while still showing up for everyone.