Pax R.
She has a brilliant mind, and she is always amazing me with her ideas and dreams.
I first met Paxton in an online community modeled after Post Secret. We became fast friends, often chatting late into the night about everything under the sun. It wasn’t long before I started to have serious feelings for her, despite the fact that I was in Colorado and she was in Nevada. I cursed my luck, because I was born and raised in Nevada – in fact, we discovered we lived one street over from each other as kids.
We have been together for 10 years now, and to say that road has been rocky would be an understatement. To clarify, LIFE is rocky, not our relationship.
Pax reminds me of the strongest woman I have ever known, my Gramma Elinor. They both have a steel resolve, a stubborn streak a mile long, a heart as big as the sky, and a mischievous twinkle in the eye. They also both have been my best friend, my safe place, and my protector. I often wish they could have met each other.
Pax shows love by doing. She is the first to jump into work, however, it presents itself. You need a couch moved? She’s on it. You need someone to help you figure out a problem? She’s got solutions. You need a friend to vent to? She’s got a cup of tea and a safe shoulder.
She has overcome so many obstacles in her life. She lives with epilepsy but doesn’t let it control her. The household she grew up in failed her by not giving her a proper education in homeschool, teaching her that her worth was only as a wife to a god-fearing man. She has surpassed all of their expectations, left their outdated life view behind, and become a woman who thinks for herself, does for herself, and chose her partner because she loved them, not because she was expected to.
We had been together for four years when I had to have serious back surgery that resulted in her having to take care of me while working full time. She never made me feel bad, never resented having to shoulder the burden of our household alone. Our marriage has no scoreboard, no tallying of “well I did this, you need to do that.” Pax is a true partner in every sense of the word – she is my best friend, my safe place, my protector, my biggest cheerleader. Her determination helped me graduate from college, helped me learn to walk again after the surgery, and kept me alive when my depression tried to drive me to suicide.
She has a brilliant mind, and she is always amazing me with her ideas and dreams. Her heart is bigger than her stubborn streak (which is at least ten miles wide). She’s the one who jumps out of the car in the rain to rescue a lost dog, the one who rescues a box of kittens born in the garden center of a Target. She’s the fiercest defender of the weak, the underdogs, the smallest, and the downtrodden. If you have Pax on your side, trust that she will step to the plate and swing for the fences with everything she has for you. She is That Friend who listens without judgment, gives sage advice, and then checks up on you to make sure you’re okay.
Pax is the greatest gift the Universe has every bestowed upon me. She is everything I ever wanted, and so much more that I didn’t know I needed. She is the heart of my heart, the strength that keeps me moving, growing, and learning. I wouldn’t be half the person I am if it wasn’t for her at my side.
