When we found out that I was expecting twins, my husband, Coach T, was shocked. I was surprised, but not exactly shocked. I had been living in my double pregnant body for a few weeks, and Coach T wasn't privy to my insane cravings, fatigue, and nausea. You see, the day after I found out I was pregnant, I hopped on a plane for a business trip. I had been pregnant many, many times before and none of my pregnancies, except my first, had stuck. But the week I was away, I was overwhelmed with early symptoms. I tried to manage my low expectations of having a healthy pregnancy, but I must have had an inkling when I ordered two airplane lunches on the flight home.

Coach T's initial reaction to having twins wasn't joy. Although we had spent years trying to get pregnant, we had done our best to avoid any chance of multiples. We had a surprising number of friends with twins, and sometimes it seemed like their marriages were exercises in efficiency and drudgery - from orchestrated baby feeding to choreographed bedtime routines. Without exception, all of them said their twins' first birthdays were celebrations of survival.

Coach T eventually got on board. In fact, he even sent me an encouraging email a few hours after that fateful doctor's appointment. It made me laugh and reminded me that I had a partner in the madness. While the past year has had its difficult moments, I wouldn't trade it. Years of infertility tested our marriage, but to survive, we had to remember to laugh, to love, and to work together.

Coach T doesn't do well with sleep deprivation. The reality of twins has been something of a rude awakening for him. The night after the twins were born, when we were still in the hospital, he turned to me and said, "We have to get some sleep at some point!" He didn't mean it as a joke, but I thought he was tripping. Since then, he has generously given me the gift of sleep. Despite his early delusions, he's the one who gets up tirelessly in the middle of the night. He brings me the babies to nurse, then changes them and puts them back to bed. He's up again at 6 am to make me coffee before a pre-work swim. And he consistently lets me sleep in on the weekends, taking the first shift with the babies.

Coach T is my favorite person to take a walk with. He's my favorite person to share a bottle of wine with. He's my favorite person to discuss a book with. And only Coach T understands just how much caffeine means to me. Coach T outdid himself this Valentine's Day. He got my daughter a window box of flowers. He got me a card that quotes Percy Bysshe Shelley with a picture of The Kiss by Gustav Klimt on it. But nothing was sweeter than when he explained where he bought my valentine. "You know, there are sections in the aisle 'For Wife, Daughter, Mother'...I got yours in the 'Passionate Love' section." Coach T - this is why I am passionately in love with you. This one is for you.