After a 12-hour shift, a husband accompanies his wife to the ER to give birth, then falls asleep on the waiting room floor
You could be forgiven for misinterpreting this photo that Sara Duncan posted on Facebook, showing her husband sleeping on the floor of a hospital ER waiting room. But Sara had just given birth and this is the story of the indefatigable couple. Sara was about to give birth and her husband Joe, naturally, did not want to miss this exciting moment. Joe, however, works 12 hours a day and, by the time Sara gave birth at 2 am, he was completely exhausted. Sara, however, does not blame him at all - on the contrary, she loves him very much and she claims that she could not face life without him. The fact that he is there for her and for her baby during this moment is a great demonstration of love - a love that he also shows her every day of their lives.
The back-story of this photo is very simple: we see a father dedicated to his family and who did not want to miss such a special moment, despite his exhaustion. Joe was due to resume his 12-hour shift shortly which is a routine he follows six days a week. Sara knew how hard this was for him and she deeply appreciated his presence, even if, after giving birth at 2 am, he lay down to get some sleep. The fact that he fell asleep on the hard, cold floor, underlines just how exhausted he really was.
Sara wrote these words under the photo: "What some might see is a dad sleeping while the mom stays awake holding their baby in the ER at 2am. What I see is a dad sleeping on the hard floor of an emergency room after working 12 hours, 6 days a week, for the past month, and despite the fact that his wife asked him to stay home and rest. But he didn't want his wife to give birth alone - no matter how exhausted he was".
Sara gave another of her important reflections on the shared responsibilities of parenting: "Being a parent is really difficult. I can't imagine doing it without my husband. Congratulations to all single mothers! I have a husband who cooks, cleans, changes diapers and bathes the children, and I'm still exhausted." When you are a parent and married, Sara added, you can't share all the tasks equally: there are days when everyone does their part, but there are days when one of the two gives much more. You have to be willing to do this in order to be have a happy and lasting relationship: this is true love.
