Becoming parents completely changed who we are

Then we got pregnant! And when our son was born, I marveled at the fact that we made a person . You and me. It honestly still blows my mind even five years later. I’d heard women say things like, I fell in love with my husband all over again once I saw him as a daddy . I love watching you be a daddy, too—but just like becoming a mother has been transformative for me, becoming a father has been transformative for you, too. And it has taken us some time to get to know the new versions of ourselves. We worked together—mostly on the same team—and have shared so many beautiful lessons and experiences together. Everything is new when you’re a first-time parent! And this new dynamic of three definitely threw us for a loop—I wasn’t used to sharing your attention with someone else, and I wasn’t used to sharing my attention with someone other than you. It took a few years to hit our stride. I think maybe we never had big things to disagree on before we became parents. It threw me off to be anything but harmonious with you. But just like we said we would on that gorgeous September wedding day, we found our way back. We stayed on each other’s team. And then I got pregnant again.

We were planning a huge life change already— moving across the country to start anew, restart your business and make a new future. I didn’t have an easy pregnancy this time. And generally, for many reasons, life seemed harder than ever. Our daughter was born and it didn’t take long for postpartum depression to steal me away, for far longer than I should have allowed it to. I was scared to get the help I needed and I let it get the best of me. I’m truly sorry for that. I’m mostly sorry that I sometimes let it get the best of us . It’s easy to love a partner when it’s just the two of you. Our priorities were never tested then—you were at the top of my to-do list, and I was at the top of yours. But—funny thing—this whole parenting thing seemed to make life a little more complex. And when your kids are little, and completely dependent upon you, there are many days when there just isn’t much left over for anything or anyone else. Babe, we’re in it right now. Really in it . These are the parenting trenches. The baby years. These years can make or break us. And can I be so bold as to say: I think they’re making us. They’re making us learn how to communicate better. How to find common ground when we disagree about real stuff, like the ways we want to raise our children. We’re invested in not only the outcome but the short term effect. We’re a team.

They’re making us think about the future. Not just the fun stuff, but the difficult stuff like estate planning, life insurance, and college funds for the kids. They’re making us challenge ourselves to provide our children with comfort and opportunities. We’ve always worked hard but the stakes have never been this high. You know I’m the optimist, the dreamer, while you consider yourself the realist—but I think we can agree on this: going through some of the tough stuff with you by my side has shown me that we are stronger than the tough stuff. We can get through it. We can get through anything. As long as we hold on to each other. Motherhood transformed me. Fatherhood transformed you. And having kids completely transformed our marriage . We’ll never be who we were on our wedding day again. Time marches forward—only forward. I miss the carefree version of “us”, but I love this version even more. Because we know what we’re made of now, and in so many ways we didn’t before. I’m sure that in our lifetime, many more obstacles will arise that will transform our marriage . But I’ve never been more confident that whatever may be, we’ll find a way through it—together.