The Beloved is undergoing a name change. After battles upon battles which have left her scarred and bruised, she has become the Shield-maiden.
The Shield-maiden is a feisty one. She may be short (and, for the time being, stout*), but that just makes her frikkin' Gimli minus the facial hair and plumbing.
She's still fighting. She's on the phone almost every day with doctors, insurance bureaucrats, and occasionally lawyers. She's fought for 2+ years to get my daughter her CVR, and in the process has gone mano-a-mano with 3 hospitals and 4 insurance companies. She built the case through meticulous records and an amazing ability to tell a doctor where to go, and make it sound polite. Heck if I know how.
Don't screw with her kids. You threaten their well-being and she will F you the F up. She's burned bridges for those kids and will do it again in a heartbeat.
She, on the other side of the coin, is the only one that can really go toe-to-toe with the kids and win. I'm the classic Da-da, and am wrapped around my girls' fingers. If I have to, I can nut up and stare down the crying kid in the high chair. The Shield-maiden does it every day. Heck if I know that one, either.
The Shield-maiden isn't just brawn. She ain't no Proverbs 31 woman, but she has the strategic and tactical mindset that has us semi-approved for a house loan at a pretty good interest rate despite a spendy husband.
Sure, sometimes her stubbornness has been directed toward me (see "spendy husband"). God knows she and I have given each other a fair number of scars, but she's got my back...well, my lower back at least*.
She f'ing rocks. And I love her.
*apologies for the short and pregnant jokes. Please don't hurt me.
