Happy Birthday Paul

Today is my sweet husband's birthday....not quite 40, but very, very close:).  Not to speak for him, but these days birthdays seem to be a celebration of endurance as much as anything else.  I've heard it said that "children keep you young", and, while that may be true, they also age the heck out of you at the same time.
Paul and I have been married nearly 8 years, and those flecks of gray hair I spotted in the early days are overtaking his head--which I happen to love.  But, I can run my fingers through those strands and practically name the cause for each of them....many, many of them were earned standing over a sick daughter's hospital bed, but the grays were also acquired along the way with family challenges, work demands, the unbending will of a 4 year old, and, perhaps the growing pains of early marriage, maybe.

The struggles we've faced with Lilah alone would have finished a lesser man, many times over.  But Paul is an extraordinary man--kind, loving, patient, humble, and strong--and grows more so (well, the patience is questionable at times:) with each year.  Happy 39th birthday to him....he might live to see 40 if he'll quit using my toothbrush.