In the course of daily life it is easy to forget all the wonderful things about your spouse and concentrate on the 150 things they did that irritated you that day ; )
Tonight Peyton wanted to "swim like a dolphin" like she saw her cousin Jackson do a few nights earlier when she watched him take a bath. Now swimming like a dolphin in the bathtub would be no big deal were it not for that dang hole sitting in the middle of her neck that leads right to her lungs! So when Peyton asked tonight while she was in the bath to "swim like a dolphin" my safety conscious Mommy side immediately jumped in and said "no" (okay probably more like "hell no what are you thinking that could kill you"). Peyton immeadiately started sobbing and I sighed in exasperation. Really - it's not like I want to have to tell her no, it is more than a little challenging to explain to a 3 year old why her cousin is allowed to but she can't.
That's when Daddy stepped in. He went and got her cap and put it over her trach. Although it is not a surefire way to keep water from getting in, it does a pretty good job. Then he had Peyton lay on her belly across his arms and he made sure her neck and head didn't get in the water. And with Daddy holding her up from the bottom of the tub, Peyton swam like a dolphin! I like to invision her as one of those rare pink bottlenose dolphins - after all how many trach kids do you see swimming? It is moments like that when Daddy is willing to take a chance and say yes to let her be a kid and not no because she is a trach kid that stop me in my tracks. He loves her unconditionally and will do anything for her. He's been doing it all along - designing an "iv pole" for her walker, dying her trach ties girlie colors, adding a doorbell to her bed so she can get our attention when she can't get to our room. Instead of expecting her to change her life because of the trach/gtube he is finding ways to change the world around her so she can live life without compromising. Just one more reminder of why I love him - I think that moment gives him a pass for 150 irritating things in a day, maybe even 200!
You know it has only been a year that I have aired caution to the wind and now let him bath with his twin. He LOVES the water!
ReplyDeleteI love your husband that is the sweetest thing ever! Great work Daddy!
I loved your comment about the passes, that is funny!