Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Gratitude Challenge - Day 3


Today is the third day of the Gratitude challenge that Brenda is hosting on her blog, The Homeschool Garden. Each day in November, I am going to blog about something I am grateful for.

Today, I am grateful for my husband.  He makes so many sacrifices for our family.  He gets up before the sun, and makes a daily commute into New York City.  His days are long.  Because of this, I can continue homeschooling our sons.  I can provide them with the guidance, special attention, therapies, enzymes, supplements, exercises, and other things they need each day.  I'm often praised for the work I do with my boys, but without my husband none of it would be possible.

Like most married couples, we have been though so much.  This is a man who can take things in stride. When I became sick and was diagnosed with autoimmune problems, he learned about my illnesses and only thought of ways to help.  A few months later, when my previously declared infertile body became pregnant, he was an amazing source of support to me.  I had a very high risk twin pregnancy, again, he never wavered.   When our tiny preemies came home he was a very active participant in their care.  In the evenings, he would take over of all of their needs so I could get several hours of uninterrupted sleep.

When what we originally thought was "colic" never went away, we started down a path that ended up in a place we had not expected.  We became the parents of children with "special needs".  As every family in this situation knows, these special needs take a lot of time, money and energy.  (Especially when mom has some health issues, too!)   I suppose he could have whined and complained about the circumstances and the attention it took away from him, but instead, every weekend, he is the one who gets up with our sons and spends special time with them.   He makes sure that  I get the chance to recharge.

Nine months ago, he had a very bad health scare.  It was sobering.  He has recovered quite nicely, (thank you, God!) and is probably in better health than he has been for years.  I'm lucky, I'm blessed, and so very grateful.

Read all the gratitude posts, and join in, if you're so inclined.