The forty watt bulb cast a warm but dim glow on her as she settled in. Our son had woken up and was quite unhappy with the new teeth that were unmercifully plowing their way through his gums. My wife had been up for eighteen of the last twenty four hours but, with a smile, she nursed our son. As she looked into his tired eyes he pulled away and gave her a grin. He didn’t know that it was 3:00 am and his mother wasn’t about to let on that he shouldn’t be awake.
As we approach our sixth year of marriage I think of the time that we have spent together. Nearly twelve years. It seems like so much less but at the same time it is as though we have known each other all of our lives. We have been together through days filled with happiness and sorrow. She is the air that I breathe and the blood in my veins. Without her there would be no me.
The days pass and, though they are currently difficult, she allows me to focus on the positive. By pulling me close she pushes me onward. In her and our son I can see that there is reason and purpose for our struggle. I know that there are better times coming. Though there may be lint in my wallet there is scarcely room in my soul for more wealth.
I imagine us in thirty years as happy grandparents. Our hearts and minds are much younger than our aging bodies and our love as young as the day of our wedding. By then, God willing, our most difficult times will be behind us and our road will be long, lying in front of us.
