I have been blessed to marry my childhood sweetheart, my best friend.
We used to dream of our future – what it would be like, what jobs we would have, where we would travel and what our babies would be like.
Fast forward to now and we have 2 boys – one with SMA and one about to be diagnosed with autism.
I stay at home to look after our boys while my husband goes out to work to pay our bills.
It’s far from the life we had planned – we didn’t plan for our lives to revolve around hospitals and meltdowns but we did plan to be a team, to laugh together, to cry together to face challenges together.
Our boys have made us stronger and I love my husband for the daddy he’s become.
So here’s a valentines message for him:
I saw your face on diagnosis day; I saw your heart break and I saw your dreams crushed.
I saw your pain at the situation that couldn’t be fixed and I saw your fear at the uncertainty of the future.
But then I watched as you made different dreams, you adapted your plans and you changed your priorities.
I saw you researching, I saw you figuring it out and I watched you become a totally awesome daddy.
I see you going to work every day and going through the daily grind, I see you coming home tired, I see you doing all you can to provide for us.
I see you when you’d rather be chilling but instead you’re taking over physio routines or you’re doing meds so I can take a shower or you’re helping me sort dinner when an appointment has run late.
I see you driving from hospital to hospital to be with us when there are treatments or tests.
I see you run to the supermarket because I haven’t been able to get out that day.
I see you diffuse meltdowns, I see you type up social stories, I see you make cool down areas and I see you trying to find solutions.
I see you turn down nights out, I see you miss your team playing. I see you.
I see you laughing and having nonsense with our boys, I see your sense of pride when our boys reach a milestone, I see you celebrate when our boys achieve a miracle.
I am so grateful to you for all you do and please know I see you totally smashing this different kind of normal life.
This Valentine’s Day I see you and I love you for all of it.