{Lucky I'm In Love With My Best Friend}

I've blogged about many things since I started this blog a month ago.  Everything from my experiences as a new mom to my thoughts on items in the news and even one of my own personal recipes.  But it occurs to me that, while this blog is focused mostly on my life as a mommy, a huge gaping hole in my writing is the love, respect, admiration, and thankfulness for my husband, my other half, my best friend, my Chris.

Chris and I met through "happenstance" in that we both are part of the same department at work- we both work on our inpatient EMR at the hospital system where we work.  I saw him standing there, as the whole department gathered to greet me on my first day, holding a Mickey Mouse coffee mug in his hand.  Without even thinking, I said to him "The only way I could like you any more would be if you were a Steeler fan".  A collective gasp came from our coworkers, as one remarked "He IS a Steeler fan!".  It was fate, of that I am sure.  We became friends, and then as the days turned into week and eventually months, our friendship began to feel like something more.

Six months or so later, we became engaged, on Christmas Eve.  Soon after, we set a wedding date of July 6, in our beloved Pittsburgh, my hometown.  We found out I was pregnant on March 29, 2013.  We married in a smaller but absolutely perfect wedding on July 6, in the midst of nearly 90 degree heat.  A few months later, on November 18, 2013, our lives changed forever when our Sabrina came into the world.  

We have lived so much life together, and I haven't even known him for 3 years yet.  That fact absolutely boggles my mind, because I feel like I've known him forever.  I am so lucky to be his partner in life, his wife, his best friend.  

Our life is wonderfully simple and amazingly happy.  I am lucky to be in this parenting journey with him for so many reasons, but the everyday things may in fact be the ones that mean the most, the ones that set him apart from so many others.  With every breath he takes, Chris effervesces dedication.  To his 2 daughters, to me, to our family, to our life, to his job...  He cooks, does the laundry, cleans, takes care of the yard, takes care of the girls, takes care of me, takes care of the dog, works 40 hours a week, and always with a smile on his face and love in his heart.  It's not always easy, as he has had 2 back surgeries and will need hip surgery at some point in the future, so his body sometimes tires before he'd like it to, but never does that stop him from playing on the floor with Sabrina, walking up and down several flights of stairs with laundry baskets, or cutting the grass outside.  That's just who he is.  He is an amazing person, who gives of himself without expecting anything in return.   

It is so easy to get caught up in everyday life, especially when you are a parent.  In between planning meals for the week, trying to keep a clean house, making sure the kids are fed, happy, have clean clothes and diapers and food, reading the same books over and over again, watching their every move to make sure they don't do a header into the furniture or eat the dog's food, and everything in between, it is easy to forget how important and how brilliantly amazing your spouse is, and how they are so important to you that without them none of it would be possible or remotely enjoyable.  I like to think that I don't ever forget that, because I honestly don't.  I do get distracted from it sometimes, just because my brain can only retain so much at any one time, but the love, gratitude, and respect are always there.  

So to my love, I say thank you and I love you, a million times over.  Without you, none of our wonderful life would be possible.  I hope that one day our girls find their other halves in this crazy world, and I hope that they can live up to the very high bar that their daddy has set.  We are all extremely lucky and I hope that with every beat of your heart you know that you are loved beyond words.