A Tribute to My Man!!!

13 years ago I became MRS Kujawa. I knew Todd was the man for me after the first bike ride he took me on. Todd was a muscular mountain man and I was a petite prairie girl. He suited me up in his bike gear, including biking pants, and let me borrow his sister's bike. My pride kept me from telling Todd that I had never had ridden a bike on anything but a flat prairie road (the strawberry shortcut and the 4 mile gravel road at our farm). After about 1/4 km on the hilly roads of Maple Ridge I told Todd that I needed to rest (and puke). As I assumed the position to puke beside a tree Todd gave me a huge hug and told me that I was wearing his biking pants backwards. After that bike ride and many more bike rides to follow Todd exuded a lot of patience despite my lack of cardiovascular health. Soon though I got better at riding my bike and could manage the hills a lot better, although to this day he can still go up a hill faster then me and always waiting for me at the top.

When we first got married I was working in Dialysis and Todd was finishing his PDP at SFU. After 4 months of marriage Todd had his first day as teacher on call in Langley and was looking forward to putting his first paycheque towards a new bike. That same day I paid a little visit to the Doctor's office as I was "missing something" that month. Sure enough the pill had failed us and we were expecting.The bike plans were put on hold and buying a house became a top priority.

13 months into our marriage we became parents. That was the day that our marriage was put on hold and our focus was put onto our special daughter that God so gentley placed into our lives. For years we neglected each other as we were so exhausted. The tension between us was evident. Todd became very introverted and I became more frustrated as I dealt with many exhausting situations. It is only by the Grace of God that our marriage survived as we led a very empty existence. Todd threw himself into fixing up our home and perfecting his landscaping skills, and I dealt with all the frustrations of caregivers, teacher's aides, dressing supplies, surgeries and etc. The one thing that would always bring me back to the "Todd I knew and fell in love with" was when life got really rough, he would pull out his guitar and sing. Music became the window to the soul of our family and to this day it is very important to us. Anyone who comes and visits knows this especially if they sit in our backyard. (Todd has created a musical sound studio with outdoor speakers in our back yard.)

What tears you apart can also hold you together. That seemed to be our life together as a married couple. Only Todd could really understand my struggles and understood what I was going through but yet we only were connected through our daughter and too exhausted to be anything more to anybody else. It was coexisting through our circumstances and watching our marriage suffer but unable to fix it.

Life changed considerably for us last year as we watched our little girl endure so much pain. As most of you know I had a breakdown. The one thing that I will never forget and am humbled about is how my husband stood up for me during that time. Many people that were close to me told me I was angry, crazy and sick. My husband never once put me down for how I was feeling and got me the necessary help I needed. My husband fought for me and that to me is a sign of true love and commitment. We both knew that we had neglected each other over the years as Kourtney's care was so consuming for the two of us. We knew that time away was mandatory.

Our trip to Mexico was our 2nd honeymoon. Todd and I reinvented who we are as a couple and re-engergized ourselves. Since December we have become so much more in tune with each other's needs. Todd has taken more responsibility with Kourtney's care and I have realized that my husband needs more of me instead of obsessing about Kourtney. Todd has also enjoyed playing and leading worship at church and looks at this as his time away. He always has a project on the go but my needs and his family's needs comes first. He truly is in charge of his family and leads us all to be better people.

Todd and I laugh more together and enjoy the new animals together. He greets me every morning with a cup of coffee and a smoothie. We go out on dates more and plan family events. The one thing I know is that my husband not only loves me but he adores me. He fought for me! He loves me despite my imperfections and struggles. No matter what we have gone through Todd has always risen above life's circumstances and is always waiting for me at the top of the hill.

I love you Todd!! Happy Anniversary!!