My Husband

I just want everyone to know what an incredible man I've married. It's been almost a month since the surgery and he has really stepped up and taken control of the situation.

Every morning he gets up, dresses and feeds Emmett on his own, and takes him to whoever has volunteered to watch the little guy for the day. Then he goes to work where I know they keep him running all day long. At the end of the day he picks up Emmett, comes home, and makes everyone dinner (unless it has been dropped off). He is always the last one to eat-- Emmett gets his meal first, then me, and as soon as an opportunity arises, Casey finally eats. He does the dishes, runs the laundry, plays with Emmett, gives him a bath, reads a story, sings a song, says a prayer and puts him to bed. Then he checks on me to see if I need anything before he straightens up the house, cleans the cat's box, and packs Emmett's bag for the next day. Occasionally he runs to the grocery store for a needed item or two and may pass by the library to find me new movies and books for entertainment during the day. Before he goes to bed he helps me change my bandages and makes sure I have enough water and snacks to get through the night. Then he goes to the office and sleeps on an air mattress in the coldest room in the house so that I can have our bed to myself and watch tv or read if I wake up during the night.

It is such exhausting work. Tonight I noticed that he was so tired by 9pm that his eyes were red with sleep. He doesn't complain though. And as worn out as he is each night he always offers to rub my back and legs for me before he goes to bed. I don't always let him. I worry that this is too much stress for one person.

This morning Casey found Emmett sitting in bed covered in throw-up. He had to change all the sheets and give the child a bath before he could leave for work. Fortunately, Emmett had no temperature and was acting very much like his normal self, so he was still able to go over to Bev's house for the day. It seems to have been a fluke because he has shown no other symptoms of being sick. Thank goodness!

Still, I wanted to do something so that Casey wouldn't have to wash Emmett's bedding on top of all his usual evening responsibilities. So I did it myself. It was hard and possibly a bit reckless, but somehow I managed to climb the stairs with the small load, put it in the wash, and then return two more times to put it in the dryer and then carry it back downstairs. It took a very long time but I had all day with nothing else to do but try. I hurt afterward, but I got through it without the lortab. I don't think it's something I can do very often, but I was so glad I could do it for Casey today. Even for a healthy person, it takes at least 2 hours for a load of laundry to wash and dry. It was one less thing he had to worry about tonight and I felt like it made a difference.

I wish I was healthy and strong. I wish I had easier pregnancies where my body would function properly and work on its own without assistance. I wish that I could do more things to help around the house. I wish I could take care of Emmett myself. I wish we could have as big a family as we wanted. But you don't get to pick your trials. I'm just grateful that Heavenly Father blessed me with someone like Casey to ride over life's bumps with.