Open Letter to my Wife

So often I spend time blogging with other people in mind and forget why I started this blog in the first place. I started to blog as a way of expressing myself and to avoid bottling up emotions as I've had a tendency to do in the past. Today I am going to blog for myself and with my original goal in mind. Today I am going to write and then share this open, very personal letter to my wife...

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My Darling Wife,

I love you endlessly. I thank you for all that you do and all that you are; for without you in my life I would struggle to make it through the day. Every day. You're probably unaware of what you do and just how grateful I am that you do it and that's exactly why I thank you. It's so effortless to you but is the only thing that has kept my head above water lately. The fact that it's effortless to you shows just what a good wife you are. Your importance to this family is unprecedented and although that doesn't need to be pointed out, I would like to do so. Thank you for being there for me; for loving me, even when at times I have struggled to love myself to the point it has made me inwardly sick. Thank you for putting up with me despite the overwhelming nature of everything else that goes on in our lives.

You're my parenting idol. I try to be the best Father that I can possibly be and I'm better at that because of you. Like any parent, you embarked on this journey as a complete novice and I've watched in complete awe as you've figured it out. Sure, you've been knocked down by the sheer size of the challenge from time to time but you've always got back up. You've always risen stronger than before and come back hungry for more. You're the best wife and mother that our little family could possibly ever wish for. Your selfless nature and patience amazes me on a daily basis. You've embraced change, never complain and are abounding in love and I'm grateful for that because at least one of us has to be for this to work. Your decision to stay home and be a mother to our children is a privilege that I sometimes envy but it's also a sacrifice and it's a sacrifice I'm glad you made as opposed to me. I'm not sure I could maintain as positive an outlook as you whilst sacrificing the right to a career, regular adult interaction and reduced social life... no matter how much I love our children. Not only that but watching you with them makes my heart smile so hard that it sometimes feels as though it might burst. You teach them (even at this young age); you're loyal to them, defensive of them and a fierce guardian of their potential and of their innocence. You have no idea how much I admire those qualities in you. Your love, companionship and guidance are a blessing to both me and our children! I pray we never learn how to take it for granted.

We've been through so much together in such a short period of time and I honestly cannot imagine what a life without you would be like. You're 1 of the 3 best things in my life and you gifted me the other 2. I could search for an eternity and not find more valuable treasure than the ones I already have - you, my wife and our 2 beautiful children. I'll forever strive to make sure you always feel loved and to show you how grateful for all that you do for our family. Never change. I love you.

Ryan