I build systems in the dark
so the light stays on at home —
and every structure I have raised
began with you, not stone.
You held the thread when I held nothing,
kept the boys when I kept watch,
never asked for what you'd given,
never counted what it cost.
I tell our sons the world is theirs.
I know because you showed me first —
that love is not a sentiment,
it's showing up when it is worst.
So here, between the builds and blueprints,
between the late nights and the early calls,
I want you to know what doesn't change:
you are the reason any of it stands at all.