A Husband's Tribute

Many years ago now before Alaine and I had children, someone said to me "Alaine will make a damn good mother to your children". I had no idea how accurate this prediction would ultimately be, but time has shown it to be utterly true. If children are in part of reflection of the love and caring that is poured into their lives by a loving mom, you only have to take one look at our babies to know that their mother is awesome.

When you get married, you don't really think about what the woman in your life will be as a mother. You're mostly thinking about yourself and the life you will have together. Its really about you, about how you can't be without her. You don't really find out what kind of mother they will be until you are in the moment.

The accuracy of that prediction from so long ago began when our 1st child was born. Alaine labored for 70+ hours to deliver her, until a doctor convinced us that a c-section was the prudent course of action. It was a lot of pain and work and she stayed with it until she couldn't and then some. She nursed our first and all of our children, and let me tell you, that is not all its cracked up to be. Far from simply coming naturally, breastfeeding is a bit of work and learning. As our breastfeeding consultant told us once "the majority of women I have worked with are too lazy to stick with it". My wife stayed with it until she was a pro.

All three of our children have had these wonderful, customized birthday celebrations. I've come to realize that the celebrations are not just for them now, but they are also intentional memory making exercises that create a movie in their heads that they will play for years to come. Alaine is attentive to so many things about our children that often escape me. How they are behaving, what they are talking about, how they eat. She is a student of our children. There are so many nuances in their development, in their learning. I'll come home and she'll tell me something that they have done or said that illustrates the wonderful human beings they are becoming. Those little vignettes and anecdotes are like little secrets she would share with me. Part of the specialness of being parents together are the million wonderful things that your children do which bring total joy to you, but would mean nothing to most anyone else. Alaine loves our children fiercely. I know she would give her life for them. I know that she would annihilate anyone who tried to harm them. I know and even more importantly, they know, that their momma loves them and always will. I watch them be bathed in that love everyday, growing stronger and more wonderful every day under Alaine's nurturing hand.

On any given day, there is a very long list of things I didn't get right. Things I despair of ever getting right. But if there is one thing I know I got right the first time, it was picking the mother of my children.

Happy Mother's Day