Coach Kyle

I can tell you quite a few details about the day I met my husband. He was wearing khaki shorts, brown sandals, a blue shirt with a horizontal yellow stripe across the chest and he looked GOOD. Really, really good. But had someone told me that he would become my husband 22 months later I would have rolled my eyes in response. I completely misjudged him in our initial meeting. Don't judge a book by the cover, right? On the day we married, I knew I truly loved him and there were no doubts in my head or heart. We spent a little over a year having fun, figuring each other out and just enjoying each other's presence. I thought he was just fabulous, but it was not until October 25th, 2007 that I started to completely understand the extent of this.

I woke up on the morning of the 25th and realized I was in labor. Not wanting to wake up my peacefully sleeping husband, I took a shower, started a load of laundry and did a little yoga before waking him. Our drive to the hospital wasn't a silly drama-filled experience as portrayed on tv; instead we were filled with excitement and laughed most of the way there. As labor progressed, we moved from laughing to umm..... well....not laughing.

To fully understand the rest of the story, it is important to note that when people learned we planned on having a natural delivery we were met with all sorts of comments and "advice." Most of the comments centered around how Kyle would not be able to say or do anything right and I would be screaming obscenities at him. Well, we DID deliver naturally and there were NO obscenities and Kyle did EVERYTHING right. I'm sure Kyle's memory is a bit different than mine, but he was a fantastic coach. And when I say "we did deliver..." I truly mean WE. Sure, my body was doing the physical work, but Kyle did a lot of the work too. One thing is really evident in looking at pictures of the hours just after Jackson's birth - Kyle looked exhausted. His emotional, mental and spiritual support through Jackson's delivery was hard work! But more importantly, his support was evidence of God's perfect ability as 'matchmaker.'

We are approaching the last few days of our current pregnancy and although I am not excited about the pain of labor, I am looking forward to the bonding that I get to experience with Kyle. Am I completely smitten with him? Yep! Unashamedly so. My mom often says that marriage must be a team effort. I am so thankful that Kyle is the head coach for Team Olson.

And so, Kyle Olson, I'm awfully glad you made it home in time for us to be together for the delivery of our little boy! I love you and like you more and more each day.