Saturday's child works hard for a living...
If you have had the privilege to meet my Saturday born wife, you can easily agree with me about her beauty and kind heart, but some of you may not realize how hard of a worker she is. I sometimes take for granted how the clothes get cleaned, how the meal magically gets cooked and appears in front of me, how there is always an endless supply of household goods, or how the home front somehow is clean and beautiful all the time. Somehow Rachel gets all of this accomplished outside out of her working a full-time job as a dietitian. Now. I know that you can give me a countless list of women that pretty much do the same thing as Rachel does for our family. For me, it is how she can do all that and put up with me as we went through our medical journey with Shawn and my training.The journey to become "Shawn's Ironman" was a decision that had to be made by both of us even though I am the one that is doing all of the swimming, biking, running, and blogging. Without Rachel's continued support, love, and willingness to entertain Shawn in my absence is invaluable. She also takes time to be a very important part of the medical research process for Shawn's Anomaly that has now become a much larger responsibility that either of us could have imagined.
I realize that I don't even understand how hard it is for her to keep our family balanced during this journey, and sometimes it has looked overwhelming. As I have been able to push beyond the levels that I often felt I could never achieve physically, Rachel has done the same emotionally. The result is a family that has become stronger that is pretty much bulletproof.
I have tried to schedule my training to not let it affect our family time together, but it still does, and Rachel somehow figures out how to tow the line when I can't or put up with my crankiness when I am recovering. The complexities of her sacrifice and hard work may never be truly understood, but it will never go without my never ending appreciation.
Friday's Child is Loving and Giving...
The Friday that Shawn was born is a day that I will never forget. Our whole family was excited and nervous at the same time because we knew that Shawn's birth was just the beginning of his medical journey. Along the journey, Shawn's loving and giving nature is revealed, and teaches us all how special he truly is.
I really don't know where Shawn gets it, but his heart is HUGE. Even at his young age, he wants to share everything of his with you. Where I really see this shine is when he interacts with other adults and children alike. Shawn sacrifices the time needed to get a smile on your face either through interacting with you, giving you something of his, or showering you with hugs and kisses that seem to be endless. Don't get me wrong, I have seen loving and giving before, but Shawn's ability to take it to another level has really educated me. Shawn knowing exactly when say, "I love you Da Da" is heavenly. It is what keeps me going for sure. Even when Shawn was in the hospital recovering from his surgeries, he always was willing to give a hug or a kiss to anyone that would be willing to receive.
We all are just now starting to realize how his birth and medical issues have and will continue to give hope to other families and children. If Shawn was not born with the infamous anomalies, I am not sure if any of this would have happened. I would probably still be just a couch potato and society would still be uneducated on these rare conditions. Shawn is the lighthouse that illuminates the path to a better world. During this season of loving and sharing, I hope you take the time to show appreciation to those around you and help those that need it.
And if you were wondering what day I was born on, I am a Thursday's Child that "has far to go." Imagine that!
