THE Woman! (As opposed to "The Other Woman")

So, in my last post, I detailed the demise of my Christmas Cycling Dream... huge fitness gains over the holidays is a must for a hard working, father of two... I had 5 days off in a row... big cycling holiday... big cycling disappointment. What salvaged if from complete disaster? My incredible wife....

No serious cyclist who lacks a wife and kids can ever understand the commitment that the "race team" must make to get daddy to the start line in the spring. I saw a pro quoted one time who said it is analogous to having another child for the wife of a cyclist... he (the cyclist) is constantly needing to eat and always needing to sleep... doesn't want to walk anywhere... is crabby if he gets hungry or sleepy... whines all the time... is incredibly scheduled...in general, is a complete pain in the ass.

We have been doing this for a while... my wife understands the commitment I am making and has adjusted to think it is actually normal. I had a colleague say to me the other day, "dude, are so engrossed in cycling culture that you don't realize how gay your outfit looks?" He has no idea... I actually thought he was joking... I think I am so engrossed that I think he is the fool to think I look gay... I actually think he should consider wearing Lycra to work. That is how my wife is now... she cannot conceive of anything else...

Here is the story...

I am in bed the third day... trust me, I am not feeling sorry for myself... I am hurting and she knows it- not throwing-up still, but not feeling right by a long shot... BUT... instead of bothering me with motherly BS and telling me that there is no way I need to think about riding today (she knows that I have now been off the bike for two days), she comes in and asks me what time I am riding. I loved her more in that moment then I did the day we got married. It said so much... she understands...

Then the very next day, she is sick... I mean really sick. Mine was mostly coming from the backend... she threw up all night and morning. I had been up with the kids since 5:30 AM and had been up a lot of the night listening to her retch. I was not moping around, either... I had realized that my chances of riding this day were long gone and had excepted it. I walk in the bedroom to see if I could bring her anything and she is on the phone...

She had called her mom and asked her to babysit the kids so that I could get in my ride. I am tearing up as I write this... I don't know what else to say really. She understands... and supports... and loves... and is the absolute best wife and mother I could have ever dreamed of...