25 Days & A Breakfast (& Counting!)

We all feel it in the air...spring is here! I find that the seasons & their characteristics have been especially significant to our family over the past year. Last spring marked the beginning of new life when we learned I was pregnant with Gage. Our summer was filled with exciting adventures: going to France, our 1st wedding anniversary, road trips to visit family & friends, and (of course) my expanding belly! As fall approached, we embraced the new changes of turning our other bedroom into a nursery, remodeling our bathroom, and welcoming our son into the world. To view it from the outside in, our life looked like it should be pretty perfect. But scattered among those seasons were lies, fear, distrust, lack of communication...a family falling apart just as it was beginning.
And then winter came.
Rich's behavior was changing...he was forgetful, tired all the time, became defensive very easily, started gaining weight...strangely enough, they were all things happening to me while I was pregnant, so I excused them away as stress from having a new baby. Then I discovered a large stash of Rich's empty alcohol bottles just before Christmas. That was the moment I realized that Rich didn't just have an "issue" with drinking, he was an alcoholic. I felt a rush of more emotions than I may have ever felt in one moment. "How could he do this to himself? To me? To our family!?" Ironically, winter brings about feelings of depression and restlessness for many people...so does alcoholism. The beautiful thing about life is that God gives us spring.
I can not only see the changes happening in Rich, I can feel them. We are communicating more openly, laughing more freely, and enjoying the rebirth of our relationship. I married my husband for better AND worse. I look forward to growing old with Rich...through all the seasons of life.