An open love letter to my amazing wife

Dear Sarah,


The birth of our daughter was—by far—the most miraculous and incredible experience of my life. At the time, the nine months you carried her seemed to go by at a snail’s pace: first anticipating and announcing we were pregnant to our family and friends, hours spent deciding how to decorate “Dixie’s” (and later, “Shamrock’s”) room, shopping, and seeing it to completion, hearing of other friends and family who were expecting, and celebrating our baby’s impending arrival with lavish baby showers.

Now almost a month has passed since our baby was born, and time seems to be in fast forward. But I will never forget the day we found out we were pregnant, after my hunch that we really did have the "luck of the Irish" on our trip overseas, finding a name for her in Ireland, nor the morning you woke me up at 6 a.m. to tell me you thought you might be in labor, when winter decided it wasn’t quite finished with blasting us with ice and snow. I will never forget emailing co-workers, family and friends, telling them "today may be the day," subsequently laboring at home for five hours (while both of us tried to work, no less), and how quickly the entire 11 hours of labor and delivery seemed to fly by.

Most of all, I will never forget March 23, 2011, when we both discovered we had a baby girl and not a boy, as many had suspected (including us). The day I caressed her skin for the first time, heard her newborn cry and held God’s tiny miracle in my arms. The day we became parents and named our daughter “Gwendolyn” together. I wish I could experience it all again.

I can’t tell you how proud I am to call you my best friend, my wife, and now, the mother of our daughter. Throughout our pregnancy, Gwen’s birth, and as we’ve transitioned into parenthood, you’ve continually amazed me. No words or thing could ever express how thankful I am God brought us together or the joy I have had in becoming a father. I want to tell the whole world what a blessing you are to me, and since I can’t really do that, I’m doing the next best thing—sharing this with you and all of your faithful readers.

Here are just a few of the things I've grown to appreciate about you even more during our journey together:

I am thankful for...

1. Your appreciation for God’s gift to us and the realization how fortunate we are to have been able to get pregnant in the first place.

2. Your positive attitude.

3. Your motivation to stay active throughout pregnancy and frequent visits to the gym—including the day before Gwen decided to meet us.

4. Your desire to document and enjoy every moment with our daughter—during pregnancy and as she grows. I know we’ll cherish these memories always.

5. Your strength and courage to give birth naturally—something many women choose not to experience, others are unable to do, and which you fully embraced.

6. Your gentle spirit and politeness to everyone around you, even in the most intense moments of labor (except your telling me not to touch you and to stop text messaging people). "Do all women scream this loud?" (you weren't that loud) "Sorry this is so boring for you guys." (it wasn't boring in the least) etc.

7. Your resolve to have a birth exactly how you envisioned it—including wearing a salmon-with-white-polka-dot nightie. Not once did you show any sign of giving up - and I had complete confidence your redheaded stubbornness would hold true.

8. Your reliance on God to sustain you.

9. Your love for me and our daughter (and Leo Peo...).

10. Your natural instincts as a mother. How you have gracefully transitioned into motherhood and encourage me despite my lack of child rearing experience.

11. Your hospitality and ability to keep a clean home, despite caring for a newborn and having just given birth.

Even more remarkable, God's presence has truly been with our family every step of the way, and for that I am forever grateful. From Gwen's head-down position to getting a full night's sleep, to our favorite midwives being on call and your being able to do a water birth because there were no complications, to breastfeeding without issues and the blessings bestowed upon us by our family, church family and friends, we have so much for which to be thankful.

I love you so much and look forward to God’s plan for us.

Love,
Tommy