Wife Appreciation Day

By Kurt Stapleton

I’m writing this blog about my wife because without her I am not here.

My wife and I met while I was deep in my substance use disorder and at a crossroads in my life. I was married and had 2 kids with my ex wife and I was not happy with where I was in life. Or where I was heading. I was on a road to destruction and stuck in high gear. When I met my wife (current) I knew she was the one I had been searching for and something about her just felt right.

We have had many ups and downs in our relationship and she has remained a rock for me since day 1. My wife is very strong willed, opinionated, intelligent, caring and independent. She was also the right person to come into my life at the right time. She offered me love, acceptance, and courage. Over the years our love and bond grew more intense each day. I learned that I can trust her with my darkest secrets and she wouldn’t judge me or turn her back on me. She loved me for who and what I am. And, in turn, I loved her unconditionally and she confided in me some of her darkest secrets as well. Together we worked as one. She helped me through my substance use disorder and supported me every step of the way. She was my peer support without knowing it.  I believe that without her coming into my life I would have turned to harder drugs and made even more terrible choices (even worse than the ones I had made already). 

After I was sentenced to prison I thought that was it, she’s going to leave me and I’ll have nothing. However, she proved me wrong and she continued to support me and show up when I needed her the most. I knew that I would spend the rest of my life making this up to her and I had something to prove to her. I had to prove to her that she didn’t make a mistake with me.  And that’s what I’m doing now. 

Today we are raising our son and living the life I had been dreaming of as a child. She has been the one to encourage me to do things I didn’t think I could do, offering me advice and letting me know when I need to check myself and attitude.  She is still supportive of me and my goals, she  inspires me to do and be better. Our love has never wavered.  

I see her being the mother that I wanted as a child and it inspires me to be the dad that I wanted as a child. She has helped me become the dad our son needs and I continue to work on this each day.

I consider myself lucky to have met her and that she stayed by my side through the darkest of my days. I appreciate my wife, because without her here I am not here.