I have always been very transparent with people – I am not high maintenance, but I am a princess.

Over the course of our 45-year marriage, we never had “his or her” jobs because we were a team. Early on, we grocery shopped together, took turns cooking (yes, I did cook once), and divided and conquered household chores as needed. Those jobs changed through the years with the arrival of children, extracurricular activities, and employment changes.

Somewhere along the way, Chuck took over all the cooking, which was really a blessing. What he created from leftovers was better than my “from scratch” endeavors. With that came his solo trips to the grocery store. He said my cart skills, or lack of, were slowing him down. He was a matter-of-fact shopper, not a leisurely one.

It didn’t end there. Chuck voluntarily washed and waxed my car regularly until he was physically unable to do so. Then he took it to the car wash each week when he filled the tank with gas. When it snowed, Chuck warmed up my car and cleared it off. He did laundry, vacuumed, cleaned the bathrooms, and much more, all to make my life easier and keep the house running smoothly.

Many of my friends were envious of my enchanted life and reminded me how spoiled I was. I never took it for granted, and I often thanked Chuck for doing all those niceties for our family.

Now, I am responsible for myself and all of those tasks Chuck so lovingly did for me. Now, I have to decide what to eat for dinner and order groceries for pickup. Now, I pump my own gas and try to remember to warm up my car on these colder mornings. There is a growing list of things that Chuck took care of that were never on my radar, but now need my attention.

Some days it all seems overwhelming, but I will get the hang of it and make it work because that’s what Chuck and I always did – faced things head-on together. We will always be a team, and I will always be a princess because Chuck will always be my prince.