My wife, Nina, is a stay-at-home mom and everything she does while I am at work (whether it be my fulltime job or my freelance sports writing/photography job) is always greatly appreciated. She makes my life very easy. I, in turn, make her life easy and together, we make Niko’s life easy. On the weekends, I like to take control of Niko so she can have a little break.
Last Tuesday, November 22nd, when I came home from work, Nina was complaining of severe back pain (no, she isn’t pregnant). She couldn’t even pick up Niko and was happy to see me when I walked thru the door for assistance (both for her and Niko).
The last time Nina was in a lot of pain (besides when she was pregnant), was in February and March of 2015 when she had elective surgery. My biggest complaint of that whole experience was the fact that I couldn’t help her with the pain (thank god for pain meds). I guess that is because of my CAREGIVER PERSONALITY (I took a personality test at work in 2010 and it was spot on). I always tend to place somebody else’s needs and desires before my own.
Basically, what I am trying to say is my wife has been through a lot in 2015 and this year and I like taking care of her and will do anything to make sure she is happy. I always worry when she doesn’t feel OK and I can tell pretty easily by her face when that is the case.
Now, we have a baby who needs constant attention (most of the time), so with her back not working properly, I had to play the roles of mom and dad and did everything except breastfeed him. I actually did give Niko some bottles of milk and formula and that in itself was a challenge because he has seen a bottle less than like 5 times!!! Hey, he likes the real thing and I don’t blame him.
I took a sick day on Wednesday from work and was off Thursday for Thanksgiving. On Friday, I went back to work since her mom came over and did all the heavy lifting for her. On Saturday and Sunday, I was back (no pun intended) to playing both roles. On Monday, I took another sick day from work and we got her to our doctor who gave her a steroid shot in her spine and prescribed a muscle relaxer and a very potent pain medication. I couldn’t leave her home alone on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the drugs so I took those days off. She still wasn’t perfect but I had to get back to work on Thursday and Friday (her mom took those days off to help her especially on Friday when she had an MRI).
On Saturday, I had an appointment for my car for an oil change and Nina and Niko came with me. I could already tell that she was feeling better and I was very glad. While we were waiting, we test drove a Honda CRV and a Honda Pilot and man, I liked them both!!! We are looking to trade in Nina’s 2007 Ford Escape and get something bigger (basically, we want more cargo space and more space in the back seat for Niko and maybe another baby in a few years). Right now, we are leaning toward the Honda Pilot.
All those days of doing double duty were extremely busy and I had very little time to myself and that is when I felt empathy for my wife (who does this everyday). How the heck does she do it? And, not only does she take care of the baby, she does laundry and cooks dinner and never do I hear her complaining about it. I got the best wife in the world. Does anybody know if President-elect Donald Trump (did I really just write that…YES) is for paying stay-at-home moms or dads? Because if so, I am totally for it!!! It is hard being a 1 income family and that would help us a lot.
Nina will be alone on Monday and Tuesday (but, she is much better than 2 weeks ago). I am off from work on Wednesday thru the following Monday. That is one of the best benefits of being at a job for 10 years…4 weeks of vacation!!! Wednesday is a sick day for me as I am getting my teeth cleaned in the morning and a Botox injection for my 39 year old wrinkles in the afternoon. I don’t think Nina and Niko will be coming with me because I will likely be out all day. I am just kidding about the wrinkles. I get Botox in my vocal cords because I have a voice condition called Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia. It is involuntary muscle spasms in my vocal cords that I can’t control. I was diagnosed in 2006 and did speech therapy for a year and have already had several Botox injections which help me a lot. I was supposed to have a Botox injection in mid April of this year, but it was a little to close to Niko being born. Don’t worry, I am OK and can speak quite well unlike some people who have a very difficult time speaking.
I know when I am sick or in pain, Nina will take really good care of me and the baby !!!
