When I filed for divorce, I remember being on my knees, talking to my Heavenly Father in bewilderment, wondering how I was going to survive this. This situation, this life, with two small babies and a heartful of fear. I was almost instantaneously reassured that I would be sent someone (soon) to go through this journey with, who would be there for my girls and help make all of this relatively manageable.
At the time, I assumed that person would be my knight in shining armor with whom I would get the happy ending I so felt I deserved. Instead my knight showed up within a month of my filing, in the form of a 25 year old medical student named Naomi. At first her appearance was a lot to deal with as she became an extremely prominent presence in both the girls' lives and mine from the very beginning. While it was more of an adjustment than I can even begin to describe here, within weeks I began to understand that this 25 year old medical student named Naomi was going to be my saving grace. And indeed she has. Her pure love for Kay and Fi and limitless support of me as we figure out how to raise healthy, well-adjusted girls has far surpassed what I could have ever imagined.
I have so much gratitude for this young woman and am in awe of what she has taken on- two small children (who are beautiful and wonderful but also fairly complex), Patrick (obviously I'm still scratching my head at her choice, but I'm going to leave that one alone), and a sometimes intimidating and very quirky ex-wife (that's me). Oh, all while going to medical school.
So as Naomi and Patrick get married today and she officially becomes the girls' step-m0m, I want her to know how much I love her, and how grateful I am for all that she's done and sacrificed for all of us. I can't even begin to imagine what the last two years would have been like without her in my life. She has been an amazing partner and support to me in raising these girls and has made all the difference. She was literally Heaven-sent.
P.S. I can't figure out a better way to truly illustrate our incredible partnership except with a story:
Several months ago, Fifi was throwing a fit as I was dropping her and Kay off for the weekend. In her four-year-old rage, she turned to Naomi and me and yelled, "I am SO MAD!" then promptly picked up a large chunk of cement off the ground, and chucked it at the car parked on the street next to us. Unfortunately, the driver was sitting in the car with the windows down so he saw and heard everything. Without hesitating, Naomi turned to the driver and said, "Well maybe you shouldn't be parked next to a fire hydrant!" and then per my directions, quickly took the girls upstairs so I could do some damage-control with the driver of the now-possibly-dented Oldsmobile. (I'm obviously the brawn while she's the brains in this relationship.) The irritated driver abruptly drove off instead of choosing to deal with me (really, wouldn't that be your insctinct as well?) I immediately called her once he was gone so we could marvel both at our insane child, and also at the fact that we'd handled the incident like a well-oiled machine. We laughed about the incident for weeks afterward, while also starting to locate bail-bondsmen with whom we might establish some sort of pre-pay plan for our sweet but feisty Fiona.