Stephani E.D. McDow

May is Lupus Awareness Month.

This life looks different than the one I imagined for myself. Lupus has a way of rearranging things. It asks for more rest, more patience, more listening than I ever thought I would need. It has taken things from me. There is no pretending otherwise. I still grieve who I used to be. The ease. The energy. The version of me who moved through the world without having to measure every step.

And still.

I am here.

I am learning my body in a deeper way. I am loving the people who show up and stay. I am creating when I can, how I can, even if it looks nothing like it once did. There is a kind of quiet strength in that. A kind of grace I did not know I carried.

This month, I hold both things at once. The grief and the gratitude. The loss and the life that remains.

If you are walking this road too, I see you.

One year of marriage today. ❤️

Babe, I’m so grateful for you. Grateful for the way you love me, the way you show up for me, and the way you stand beside me in this life we’re building together.

You support my calling and the work that lives in my heart. You make space for my creativity, encourage my voice, and remind me that the things I feel led to do matter. That kind of support is a gift I never take for granted.

And when my body fights against me - when lupus and the rest of these diseases try to slow me down, steal my joy, or make the path heavier than it should be - you care for me with patience, tenderness, and quiet strength. You step in without hesitation. You help carry what I can’t always carry alone.

You love our son so deeply. Watching you with him - the guidance you give him, the laughter you share - fills my heart in ways words will probably never fully capture.

I am thankful for you. I am proud to walk beside you. And I love you more deeply than I can explain here.

Happy anniversary, Babe.
One year down. Forever to go. ❤️