Darling Drew

Today we celebrate 17 years of marriage. Here we are still standing!

I am not going to pretend for one second it is wedded bliss every day because frankly that would be a lie. My golly I don’t think for one second either of us thought that we would have wedded bliss every day, but the roller coaster we hopped on no-one could have even predicted that. But we are still here, still riding the ride.

During the last 17 years so much has happened, the first shock that came flying our way was the day we found out that I was pregnant with the baby that would become our beautiful eldest son Zac. This while I was studying, working a couple of part-time jobs, you working an incredible amount of overtime all while settling into married life. We then bought a house, moved and he arrived. That was all within the first 10mths of our marriage and doesn’t even go close to describing the roller coaster that was my pregnancy with our darling son who insisted on arriving 9wks early!

I finished uni, we settled into life in our new home with you working a lot, volunteering even more and I settled into a teaching role. Curve balls 2 & 3 come along only months into my first permanent teaching role. As always we have bumbled along and you have been there right by my side as I coped (or didn’t) with PND after Zac, another difficult pregnancy with our precious girls never really knowing what would happen and in the end they were born at 34wks beautiful, strong and healthy, just like their big brother 3.5 years earlier. Again, the PND rolled around and we bumbled on through life. You volunteering, me working or not, me raising our children, trying to create a home for us and our children. This hasn’t always been easy but there is always love.

You have been there for me through thick and thin. You have wheeled me around in a wheelchair when my leg stopped working and caught me as I fell when my brain finally gave up too. You have driven backwards and forwards to visit me in hospital after my many, many operations. You have stood by me when I couldn’t stand for myself. You have helped me shower when I couldn’t do it myself, you have been there when I fell through rock bottom and found a subterranean level that I didn’t even know would be there. You have picked me up countless times and for that I am ever grateful.

We have had yet another roller coaster of a year starting on a huge high with a big family holiday on a cruise with Mum & Dad. then a massive shoulder reconstruction for the boy child followed a couple of weeks later with major surgery for me. July saw a beautiful family wedding and we farewelled much loved Caleb who fought every day for 12yrs, you have shown us all the true meaning of unconditional love buddy and have left a huge hole that will never be filled. September saw our gorgeous girls cut their hair and donate it for charity and you received your 25yrs with SES! Zac finished yr 10 and the girls finished primary school. I feel like the days and weeks fly by so quickly, sometimes too quickly, though I know you are there beside me everyday!

I can’t promise that the next 17 years will be any less of a roller coaster because I am fairly sure that isn’t how I do life. What I can promise is that I will always love you, I may not always like you, but always love you. With you I am a better person, I am stronger, you make me want to do more and be more. You make me my best self.

Thank you for everything you have done for me, for us and for our family. Thank you for being there for me when others ran and I couldn’t be there for myself. I think I am coming out of that cloud at least it feels a little that way. Thank you for all the special things you do to show your love for me like decorate our house in Sharks colours for their Grand Final outing (secretly I think you are a Sharkies fan but you like to be different.) Here’s to many more years together enjoying our children and our families. Looking forward to all the beautiful memories we will create. Enjoy your weekend of cricket.

Here is a little glimpse into the last 17 years together with our family and dearest friends who hold us up when we fall.

I love you.

Cat xoxo 

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