A Thank You (Part One)

Post by Brian

It’s been documented here, we had a tough pregnancy, and there are a few things I wanted to say, and a few people I wanted to thank. This will take two parts. The second part is aimed at the countless helpers who softened our hardship, and the first part is aimed at one person.

I’ve never once worried about my wife. It sounds terrible to say, but anyone who knows her knows why. Elizabeth is the epitome of competence, she doesn’t need anyone to worry about her. It’s wasted energy, and she hates waste. She’s been asked to handle tough times in her life, and she’s handled them with something that resembles grace, but angrier. Over the past 4 months, she dealt with bleeding, bed rest, and the constant weight of having a small child in her belly that was having a very tough time. She didn’t blink. Everyday she got up, put one foot in front of the other, laughed, cried, yelled, and nurtured. She didn’t always do these things with a smile, but she always did them as Elizabeth. I simply can’t get enough of this woman. 

Most of you reading this know us, and you also know that I don’t tell Elizabeth how I feel on Facebook, or publicly at all. Most of the time we play the role of the self-deprecating, old married couple, poking at each other, making jokes at the other’s expense. We don’t take things too seriously. But driving to the hospital, watching Elizabeth unsuccessfully attempting to will Henry to kick her, knowing that things were bad, but not knowing how bad, I almost panicked. Then I remembered who I am married to, and a calm came over me. This is Elizabeth, after all, and whatever happens, we will do the things that need to be done. My wife later remarked how calm she thought I was, and she was right, but I’m not sure she ever knew why. 

She did all the things that needed to be done. After a few more blips on the radar, we are home with a new baby boy, and Elizabeth will be running Town Lake before we know it. We’ll forget the heaviness we felt over the past 4 months, and we’ll mostly remember when we acted with compassion and bravery. I’ll forget that I worried about Henry all the time, worried about Oliver all the time, worried about the house, the dogs, my job, car, waist line, book group, politics, college, and fantasy football, but I never worried about Elizabeth.

Thank you, Elizabeth. I love you.