My husband, y’all.
I’m sitting here, trying to review cardiac pathology, but I
keep getting distracted because my amazing husband is playing outside with our
son. So instead, I’m going to take a
moment and brag on him because he’d never do it himself.
When we first started dating, K knew that I was planning on
attending medical school. I’m sure he
didn’t know all that would entail, but he was happy that I was happy going into
medicine. When it turned out that we
would end up moving internationally for medical school, he was supportive and
excited for a new adventure. Sure, it
was difficult to leave his family, church, and jobs. He left the only place he’d ever called home to
start a master’s program and full-time daddy duty. It was quite an adjustment for all three of
us. Dominica is beautiful, but it comes
with a unique set of challenges for many single students, challenges compounded
for those with families, especially a baby.
But my husband is a trooper. I
can’t tell you how many pages he has read or typed holding E in his arms. He’d get E to lay down on his lap, then pull
out his books and highlighters until the little fella woke up and required all
of daddy’s attention. He was responsible
for feeding him throughout the day (keeping up with washing bottles and their accessories
is not fun.) He’d bring him up to school
every day (a long walk in sweltering heat,) so we could eat lunch together,
then walk him back up home to nap.
The night of the hurricane, he was steadfast. We made a plan and pulled our mattress into
the living room so we could lay next to the only concrete wall not surrounded
by windows. We packed up our most important
items and laid down to wait out the storm.
I remember looking at him as E slept between us, blissfully unaware. He reassured me that we would be okay. The next day, we left our little home, deciding
to shelter at the student center on campus.
He made three trips back to our house that day to collect different
items that we needed (not knowing how long we would be there,) and then to pack
up our remaining baby items to give to our neighbor, who had recently given birth.
That week is a whirlwind in my mind. Initially, we didn’t know how long we would
have to stay prior to being evacuated.
We were told to ration our food and water. Luckily, we had filled a few gallon jugs before
the storm and had those with us, but we knew that we’d need some of the water
for E’s formula and that I’d need to drink because I was still nursing
him. K made sure that I was drinking and
eating and that we’d have enough before taking any for himself. He helped rearrange
the furniture in the little room we were staying in to make it more hospitable
for us and for the family with whom we shared the space.
As we were evacuating, he made sure that we were safe and comfortable. He grabbed a chair for me to sit in with E, but
in order to let more ladies sit, he sat on the floor of the boat, for twelve
hours, with his back against the wall. We
had been told that the ride would be about 4 hours, so I inquired at hour five
how much longer it would be? I was told
about six to seven hours longer and I broke down in tears. Because we had been told only 4 hours, many
people hadn’t brought food. We had
brought snacks for ourselves and for E, but K generous offer to share what we
had was taken up by many of the ladies around us.
Even now, as we are so grateful to be back in the United States,
K does the majority of work around our home.
As I am in my last semester of basic sciences (please, Lord!) I’ve been
studying with friends more frequently, which means that K has morning duty
until I can get home. He makes most of
our meals and does 90% of the housework.
He makes sure that E is fed, dressed, and clean.
They play outside every morning, drawing the alphabet (in both
Hebrew and English) and chasing each other all over the yard. As I write this, I can see him racing E down
the driveway, and now he’s using E’s overalls to lift him up and I can hear our
little boy laughing with delight.
The other night, I sat on the couch and cried because I felt
so overwhelmed. K sat down with me and
held me until I felt better, then gave me a twenty minute pep talk about how I
can do it. He gave me another inspiring speech
the other day as we played outside with E.
I am incredibly blessed to be his wife. Our son has a father who loves him and
delights in spending time with him.
Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful chapter in our lives.
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