On this holiday weekend, as my husband goes off to his college reunion for one night, I want to focus on all the good stuff—and there is so much. I may get weighed down by the messy piles he makes, but so many other things he does lift me up. Consider this a pre–Father’s Day “why my husband is fab” short list (by no means complete).

 * He really loves me.

* He adores his daughter and supports her every moment.

* He always misses us a lot when he travels for work.

* He has a career that he loves in which he helps kids.

* He helps me show our daughter what it means to work hard at a career and still love it in spite of its travails.

* He is always on top of the homework thing with her.

* He’s so good at math and science—which helps our daughter a lot.

* He has always shown our daughter that reading trumps TV and tech anytime.

* He is the supreme culture vulture and tour guide of life.

* Re. above, he goes to the ballet with me—and loves it!

* He does the dishes.

* He is, as my sister pointed out at our wedding, “one tall drink of water.”

* He puts up with my testiness.

* One of his mottos is: Live and let live. If it’s not hurting anyone, there’s no reason to dispute or criticize is. (And he’ll tell you all about the research that backs this up.)

* He really knows A LOT about a lot of things (of course, this could also be on the “pet peeve” list, since he wants to tell you about it all the time).

* He is very smart, but he also says that PhD stands for “piled higher and deeper.”

* He is loyal, loyal, loyal.

Again, this is a short list. There is so much more. But I wanted to stop and take stock for a moment. I have it good.

What about you? What are some things that go on your “hubby plus column”?