She felt a sense of satisfaction as she completed the folding. All the clothes were in a neat row on the bed. Then she noticed something odd.
She snatched up the shirt and inspected it carefully. And it all hit her like a ton of bricks. She now knew why her husband was always coming home late. She immediately pulled out her phone.
Jonna Miller lived with her husband David in Leesburg, Indiana. They had not been married for long, and it started off great. But as the months passed, David started to arrive home from work later and later.
Jonna noticed a change in him and started to grow worried. Day after day, she would wonder if he was still happy to be with her, and her insecurities grew. Then, one day, when she least suspected it, she found her answer.
David and Jonna had started dating in 2012, and just a year later, they got engaged over Thanksgiving dinner.
Jonna was also 6 months pregnant with their baby girl so they had a lot to celebrate that year. Jonna gave birth to Delanie in 2014, and then, one year later, the couple decided to finally tie the knot. Little did Jonna know that married life wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
Jonna had grown up in the town of Indiana and she joked that she spent most of her time “Telling bad jokes and creating awkward situations”. This wry humor prepared her perfectly for what she loved to do in her adult life; blogging in her uniquely sarcastic voice.
She maintains her blog, Real Blunt Blond, to the delight of thousands of readers. But one day she shared her revelation about her husband, to the resounding suspicion and astonishment of her followers.
In stark contrast, her husband’s childhood was very different from Jonna’s life of frivolity. David grew up in an Amish community, where simple living and a distrust of modern technology is the Swiss-German religious sect’s hallmark.
Jonna is amused by her husband’s quirks and has a whole section dedicated to him, called “You can take a Man out of the Amish but…”. Jonna also remarked that David has become “well adjusted to his new ‘English’ lifestyle.” But soon, Jonna realized she didn’t know him as well as she thought.
David worked at a nearby RV dealership, and the hours were taxing. David often arrived home from work late into the night. At first, she didn’t mind but when it got worse and worse, she couldn’t help but feel something wasn’t right.
Jonna is a busy, stay-at-home mom, but she still finds the time to maintain her online presence and admitted in her blog that her husband’s absence often makes her feel isolated and insecure.
Then one evening, after a particularly rough day, Jonna took to her blog as an outlet for her feelings.
“I’m married to a hard-working man and I would be lying if I said that it didn’t take a toll on me. Sometimes he will come home after a long day at work and I’ll be waiting for him to walk in the door, so I can yell ‘you promised me you would be home at five!’. As if he would rather be working than spending time with me and our daughter.” Right?
“I’m putting him in a lose-lose situation. He literally can’t win. If he doesn’t work late, we won’t get the new furniture set that I have to have. If he does work later, he comes home to a nagging wife who is desperate for his attention.”
She continued, “I am so selfish in our marriage and I know that. But, every once in a while, I’ll have my little ‘A-ha’ moment that gives me a sense of understanding.” Jonna was blaming herself but she was about to get a dose of reality.
One fateful Wednesday, when David didn’t come home by the time he said he would again, Jonna placed his dinner in the fridge and slammed the door in anger. She tried to be understanding but it was all getting too much. Her trust in him really began to waver.
Then, she heard the dryer finish its cycle, and started to fold the warm clothes. It soothed her. But all the while, she was thinking: “Why does he not want to spend time with me?”. Just then, she noticed something about David’s clothes, and the truth left her floored.
She had folded the laundry and separated the clothes into two piles; hers, and David’s. That’s when she saw it and wondered why she had never noticed it before. The truth about David had been staring her in the face the whole time.
She looked at his clothes intently. She saw marks and stains she never noticed before. And the revelation shattered her and the way she viewed her entire marriage.
She thought back to everything he did for her and gave to her and wondered how much it really meant to him. Looking at the clothes now, she felt like a fool. How did she not see it?
She looked from one pile to another and took note of the marks and stains on his clothes that were nowhere to be seen on hers. It was blatantly obvious that she had a blind spot in their marriage.
Jonna shared her life-changing revelation with her readers on her blog, asking herself: “Why did my clothes look so vibrant, clean, and new? His were dingy, stained, and torn.”
Then, it all clicked and finally made sense for Jonna. David worked so hard every day to provide her with all the things she wanted. And he had to work the harrowing hours just to manage her demands.
“This man provided more than I deserve. If I tell him I want something, very seldom will he tell me no”, she explained. Then, Jonna felt another emotion hit her, like a tidal wave.
Her husband was making do with his old and worn clothes while he made sure she always had new and expensive ones. The guilt pierced through her, and she started to cry.
After Jonna’s life-changing realization, she resolved to strive to become a better partner for David. Every time he would arrive home late from work, instead of getting angry, she would remind herself of the sacrifices he was making for his family.
And she encourages her readers to think twice before resorting to feelings of anger towards their hard-working husbands. But did she truly mean it?
“Sure, I miss him and want to spend time with him throughout the week,” she wrote.
“But I have realized he is offering me the most beautiful form of love there is… He works to give our family everything we need. He works so his wife and daughter don’t go without, even though there are times I’m sure he does”. And her final words of advice?
Jonna’s experience and random observation lead her to admit that her feelings of loneliness and resentment towards her husband were completely unfounded.
She had some good advice for her readers, too: “If you have a hard-working man in your life and you can’t comprehend how much he loves you… Do his laundry.”
Jonna’s post on her blog struck a chord with many of her readers, and the truth hit home for one commenter in particular.
“This is an amazing reminder. I used to stay home with our daughters when they were little, and I used to feel horrible doing the same thing. This is an awesome perspective to carry.”
Jonna continues to maintain her blog, even though she is kept thoroughly busy by parenthood. Her blog, Real Blunt Blonde, has many witty and sometimes hilarious posts about family life.
Many of Jonna’s posts also discuss David’s Amish background, and these have proved to be a huge hit with her readers as interest in the culture grows.
“I’m not Amish but my Husband is” is just one of Jonna’s popular blog spots. She discusses her relationship with David and describes what happened when she met his parents.
It also reflects on the naive misconceptions she had had before getting to know the Amish better, and Jonna constantly takes jabs at herself with her wry humor. But that’s not all.
Jonna also writes extensively about motherhood, and she shares her insights into parenting from her firsthand experiences with Delanie.
Jonna battled with what she referred to as the “terrible twos” in 2016 and was exasperated by her rebellious daughter. Jonna titled this piece “I Graduated at the University of Toddler Town and Majored in Defeat,” and describes the trying time in hilarious and painful detail.
She has since moved on from suspecting her husband of anything but the hard-working man he is and he makes double the effort to communicate more with her to keep her reassured and their relationship secure.
All it took was more communication, and naturally, the trust followed! Jonna refrains from her anger and lack of attention by focusing on her work while he’s away, and her blog is reaping the rewards! But David has also changed something…
Despite his busy schedule, David now makes sure to take time off and spend it with his family. Most recently, they took a trip to Disneyland where their daughter Delanie got to meet her favorite character, Cinderella.
It was a memory they will never forget. It’s important to work hard, but it’s also important to have a balanced life and take time off and enjoy your loved ones when you can. Work hard, play hard; a good motto!
In February 2019, Jonna shared that she was pregnant with twins. Of course, that also meant that she wasn’t going to get a break anytime soon. But she’d have plenty to write about on her blog.
In September 2019, she gave birth to her twins, one of whom was a little girl they named Molly. She looked a lot like her big sister Delanie. The other twin was a sweet little boy they named Reese.
It’s safe to say that the Millers are going to have their hands full now that they have Molly and Reese. Between eating schedules and diaper changes, these parents are going to need a vacation again pretty soon.
Hopefully, their eldest daughter Delanie will lend a hand. But how does she feel about babysitting her younger siblings?
Delanie is having a wonderful time with her new brother and sister and there are no indications of sibling rivalry just yet.
On a Facebook post, Miller wrote the following caption: “For those who have been following me for a while, well you know Delanie… she’s living her best life!”
Of course, no one expects Delanie to do everything for her parents or her siblings. She is just a little girl, after all. So, when one of her siblings gets fussy, she just hugs them and shrugs.
Babies don’t come with a manual. And it’s clear that this babysitter is just winging it. But she’s not the only one!
Meanwhile, Miller and her husband are still trying to get the hang of things while adjusting to life with twins. This means double the feedings, double the baths, double the cries.
For now, they’re continuing to ride it out and do the best they can!
