On this day three years ago I married my husband for the second and the third time. At that point I thought I had a true partner and team mate in life.

I knew nothing.

I knew nothing of the quality of man I had truly married. At our first anniversary I was sick as a dog with morning sickness. He would go to the grocery store almost every day in the hopes of finding something I might keep down.

Once our daughter was born, the shit hit the fan and he and I were repeatedly faced with making stressful medical decision after stressful medical decision.   We always made them together, even if we didn’t always agree at first. Every option sucked, to be frank, but it was a discussion. In the end we both stood behind each and every decision we made as a team.

By our second anniversary we had moved states. Our daughter had just had a major surgery and very stressful hospitalization (yes, some are more stressful than others), and he was now the sole breadwinner. Things were still rough with our baby girls, but he stood next me the whole time. And again, we problem solved together.

So here we are, at our third anniversary. Things are much better. Lyra is more stable and learning new skills almost daily. Her little personality has exploded into a huge personality. And there is my husband, enjoying every second of it. He is still the sole breadwinner and works East Coast hours while living a Mountain Standard life. After long days he takes one on one time with Lyra to give me a break. And at night, when she is up, I always tell him to go back to sleep, but I know he doesn’t. He listens to see if I need help. He loves doing bath time and gets her dressed for bed most nights. He insists on being the one to brush her hair and would rock her to sleep if she would let him.

He is my partner in every way. Our family would be missing a key piece without him.