Monday, February 22, 2010

Before and After

That's him, right there, before there was us.

That's him too, snowboarding in the Alps.
And that's him, after surfing a stone's throw from his old home. If I could have found the pictures of him surfing in Indonesia and Costa Rica I would have posted them too.
I guess that those pictures are too far buried under the piles and piles of family photos. Buried under photos of wedding, and honeymoon, of new houses, new pets, and little baby toes.
Some how he went from single Englishman, saving every last penny to find his next adventure,
to family man, saving every last penny to provide and care for two ladies and a small horse that some people call a dog.
He gave it all up to be with us and to build a life for us.

You can imagine my humility when yesterday after he planned himself a little manly adventure into the wild, that he chose to stay at home. Upon making his early morning exit he heard a pitiful little "Da-due" and turned from the door. Instead of fulfilling a very real desire, a core part of his design, the voice that calls to him and says he was made to be something daring, he stayed with us. He had a picnic at the park instead, he played basket ball with a dog and a baby, he read Time magazine on the couch with her.
And at the end of the day he tucked her in and in the way he held her, like he does every night, he whispered to her how much he loved her...and in staying home or rather in building this home and giving up on his adventure and so many others he whispered that he loved me too!
xxxx

10 comments:

Laura said...

Beautiful post, friend!

Erin said...

never fear - i am bawling my eyes out. that was such a precious precious post.

Amanda said...

Ah! Thanks a lot for making all of us cry our stinkin eyes out! Such a beautiful post. Can I forward it to my sweet Australian guy friend (a former serious world traveler) and his wife? They would be absolutely touched!

Jill said...

So sweet. Love him.

P.S. I'm mandating for March that you have "Video Mondays". This will consist of you posting a new video of Libs doing something super cute. Like sitting still, talking, breathing, waving, crying, sleeping, eating, you know everything. K Thanks. Love, Cousin Jill

Lisa A said...

Aww, that was definitely precious. Jill, you are too funny. That is a great idea to have video Mondays!

Trevor said...

Yeah - bring on 'Video Mondays'... Although Jill, let's think about what we are asking of Carly - it's only fair if she's allowed to pick the day!

Jill said...

True Trevor. I was being selfish because work on Monday mornings is my least favorite thing.

Art Teacher said...

Amanda, please feel free to share with your friends, especially if they can relate!

For the record, I cried too...not at the post, just at the whole day. It was great. We are blessed.

Jill and Uncle T, I like the video idea, but something is up with our video camera. I'll work on it though.

xxx

Amy White said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Amy White said...

That was so sweet Carly! Having a husband that loves being a daddy and shows it in the way he helps and the time that he gives is amazing! It sounds like it was a great day. See you soon.:)