A Tribute to My Family

Today we took a short break from all the stress and uncertainties in our life.  On the way back from getting my blood test we stopped at the park and enjoyed sandwiches and sunshine as a family.  Samuel S. Lewis State Park is very special to us because it's the place where my husband and I met in person for the first time.

We met online in a chat room in February 2007 when I was 18 and we liked each other, but due to his advanced age (26, lol) I had no intention of ever meeting him.  A year and a half later I was dumped by my fiance and kicked out of our apartment.  I was scared and didn't know what to do.  It seemed that no one else had the time to talk me through my crisis, not even my parents, and I leaned heavily on Eric for comfort via text and the internet.  I was so thankful for the support he provided me when no one else was around to do it, and when he invited me to the park to meet him and his wife a few weeks later I couldn't say no.  I knew he was the type of friend who would be in my life forever, and thought it would really be in my best interest to bring this friendship into the real world rather than just a virtual one.  When I first set eyes on him, before I even heard his voice, I arrived at the sudden realization that this man was already my best friend in the world.

We had no intention of ever being together romantically when we first met.  He was newly married, I would have had to be insane to expect more than friendship from him!  But to my confusion, by the time we said "goodbye" that first day, I was developing feelings for him.  I found out later that he was feeling the same way.  Naturally, things were very complicated by his marriage.  It was already a troubled marriage to begin and neither of them had ever loved each other.  He only married her to begin with because he loved her children and wanted to settle down.  He didn't think he'd end up falling in love with someone else, but he did.

It's not easy loving a married man, but I was never "the other woman".  I have too much dignity to put myself in that position.  He and I remained friends, nothing more, until he officially left his wife and moved out of her home just 2 weeks after we met.  The break up was inevitable before he even met me, so I don't think I could be labelled a "homewrecker".  At least I hope not.  It was a messy time.  Not ideal by any means, but when you meet your soul mate there is no sense in denying it.  You have to be together.  And we have been perfect together since September 9th, 2008 when we made our relationship official.  It was never a question of IF we are going to get married, we knew from day one that we would be married.  We shared a car, we shared bills, we shared money, we shared everything since that first day.  People must have thought we were crazy for being so involved with each other so quickly, but it felt right to us.  We have shared our lives together in every possible way since then.

Our love is a beautiful thing.  Just look at what we have created together:

Ricky had a great time at the park.  While we were there I had the chance to lay back on the hill where Eric and I first conversed and look at the sky for the first time in years.  I finally felt like the burden of our financial stress was relieved from my shoulders for a short time and I felt human again.  I felt like a real person, not just an impoverished person struggling to survive.  I felt normal.  It was a blessing to see my child running with all his might through the grass where his parents fell in love.  I can't wait to share the beauty of our place with little Owen when he comes.