Dear Husband on Your Birthday

Dear Jeff,

How can we celebrate your birthday when our family is enduring such hardship? I don't know that a new golf club or a greeting card could offer you any excitement when your son lays quietly in a hospital bed waiting for the gift of life. This year I couldn't go shopping or even think about a creative offering to show my love for you on the day you were born. What I can give you is my gratitude for your partnership.

Five years ago underneath the Fourth of July fireworks in New York City you asked me to be your wife. There was never a moment of hesitation. You have always been the one that I wanted to spend this wild and crazy life with. We seem so young and carefree now, looking back. How could we have ever known that our love would be compounded by the gift of children?

Watching you become a father has been the most wonderful transformation I have ever seen. The friendship you have with Asher is only outdone by the love you show him. You are truly his best friend. You've given him your sense of humor, compassion and thirst for adventure. He looks up to you and has acquired your sense of style. When Finnegan entered the equation we were forced to acknowledge a world that we had only heard of on the news or in movies. Being an ICU dad has not been easy. I see it in your eyes, the sadness, the fear, the unwavering love. You light up when Finn shoots you a soft smile or grabs your finger and won't let go. Every moment that you are with him you read to him, sing to him and transfer your strength.

I'm sorry that our undistinguished but perfect life has been interrupted by the hardships we are currently enduring. That being a wife has come secondary to being a mother. Every single day I am proud of the father that you have become. The man you have become. I love you.

Happy Birthday Jeff. Next year we will celebrate, at home, with our boys.

Love,
Ali

July 6th, 2017


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