NOW IT'S HIS TURN

I saw his heart break the day we drove out of the army base. He had hung up his policing belt to join the army, and now he had just hung his boots up. He didn’t walk away from the army, he walked towards his family. The decision that was best for us as a team, not for him as an individual.

I remember the moment he told me his decision so clearly. I was standing at the bathroom door watching him bath baby Knox.

He had just buried one child, and was watching the other not cope after another 10 week absence. It was the decision that he landed on.

From there I watched him rebuild himself. Take the skills from his police and army life and adapt them in a brand new career. The kid from a rough upbringing, who went to 16 different schools and had no relevant uni degree flourished.

He worked harder than everyone else, more determined than everyone else, travelling 2.5 hours each way on his commute so he could give his boys the life he wanted them to have, and still build a new career. He sacrificed his own time with them and worked harder so I could have extended maternity leave, and he encouraged me to back myself when I chose a career change.

Now it’s his turn. Years of travelling to work ends this week. The dreams of working for himself coming true.

And I’ve got his back. Just like he’s always had mine.