My Wife Was Seven Months Pregnant When She Stopped Leaving Bed—Then I Lifted the Blue Blanket and Realized My Mother Already Knew What Was Underneath

As responsibility for what kind of husband I had been before it happened.

The answer was:

Loving.

Hardworking.

Thoughtful in many ways.

And conflict-avoidant with my mother.

People can be several things at once.

That realization protected me from two useless extremes.