“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets as a MichaelANGELo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry.  He should sweep streets so well that all the  hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say, “Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

This quote has many times reminded me to do the best I can at whatever I was doing.  Today it reminds me of the Queen of the Capshaw house, my wife and mother of my sons, Angel (note the bold ANGEL above :))

Just five short years ago my wife had built an amazing career in retail.  She was a store manager at Victoria’s Secret.  And, she was the best!  Loved by her customers and her employees and extremely dedicated and passionate.

Just under five years ago we got pregnant with our first child and throughout the entire pregnancy she swore to me she was going back to work and would not have it any other way.

When Jaxon was born, she went back to work.

Under two months in, at dinner, with tears rolling down her face, she asked me if it would be ok if she stayed home with our son.  I was floored but perhaps not completely surprised as I had witnessed this incredible bond between her and Jaxon from day one.

Angel put in her resignation the next day and has been home since.  This weekend we will celebrate Jaxon turning 4 and my boys and I will celebrate and give thanks for our Queen…Mom and companion.

Angel has taken the above quote and lived it out in a way that amazes me…inspires me.  I am unsure how she so gracefully made the transition from successful career woman to mother but she did.  And, she is the best damn mother on the planet.  I have not heard her talk about the “what if’s” of work or regrets in not following a career that she was passionate about.  I have not heard her complain about being overwhelmed or state that she can’t wait to go back to work.  Actually, just the opposite.  She tears up thinking about our son starting pre-school and not being able to spend everyday with him.  She does not see it as a “break”.  In my mind, like the quote says, she was “called” to be a mother and I pause to say, she is the best.

The sacrifices she has made and continues to make daily are immense, but not unnoticed and appreciated beyond measure.  A few things I have witnessed…

~ The sacrifice of her body and nursing two sons to good health in those first years.

~ Coming home to a house intact and two boys happy…I recognize what that must take behind the scenes.

~ Making every holiday a major event for the family…the excitement for any given holiday permeates our home for weeks prior to and after each one.

~ The joy she instills in our sons is so incredibly visible.

~ The adventure and experience she provides our sons has to be exhausting.  She takes these boys on adventures like the zoo, bouncehouse, potato chip factory, Port Discovery, lake parks, etc at least 3-4 times a week.  And, NEVER talks about how much effort it takes.  But, I know.

~ Having my sons come to me with pride with varying things that Angel has taught them.

~ Sitting back and simply watching how they gravitate towards Angel in good and bad times.  This tells the whole story of who Mom is to them.

~ How she made potty training a joyful and prideful experience.

And on and on and on….

The love, the hugs, the diapers, the sacrifice, the joy, the tiredness, the pride, the adventure….I have witnessed what should be the best selling book on motherhood being written by my wife for 4 years now.  

For the last week Angel has been preparing to celebrate Jaxon’s birthday.  Handmade decorations, superheroes flying from cieliing fans, banisters, and windows, and all long the way pumping up Jaxon and Maxwell making it the biggest event to hit the globe in years!

In the Capshaw house this weekend we will be celebrating our Queen and her first born.  Two uniquely different reasons to celebrate yet deeply and soulfully woven together.  I personally find it fitting that Angel had our first son the week of Mother’s Day.

We are unsure of what Angel will do in the future.  I will support whatever decisions she makes. And, no matter what, I am sure she will excel. But for now, the fact that she lives out a quote from the great MLK is worthy of recognition and frankly a lesson to us all.  If you have made a choice to do or be something, do it as good as Angel does motherhood.

Angel, Happy Mother’s Day from your three boys.  We love you, we honor you and we could not be more grateful for YOU and being the cornerstone of this family.  You are in fact OUR QUEEN.

Jaxon, my dear son, Happy 4th Birthday…Daddy loves you deeply.

Stay True,

Ted