IT'S ABOUT TIME

After ten years, I finally married the love of my life in October 2023. Life has been an adventure—filled with challenges that have made writing difficult—until now. Our wedding was beautiful, and I wouldn’t change a thing. The ceremony was intimate, shared only with our dear mothers, sisters, brother-in-law, children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

This picture is especially dear to me because, just a few short months later, my mom passed away from pancreatic cancer. That night, after the ceremony, we shared a special hug. She had been experiencing pain on her right side and had been seeing the doctor. In that moment, as we embraced, a thought hit me—I wouldn’t have her much longer. We locked eyes after that hug. Tears welled up in hers, which was rare for my mom, and I shed one of my own. No words were spoken, but I think we both knew the truth. And I also knew she was happy that I was finally married.

Since my oldest grandson was eight months old, I’ve made it a tradition to have Friday night dates with him. As three more grandsons have joined the family, I’ve tried to keep that tradition alive. This past year—between getting married and everything else that has happened—it has been harder, but we’re finally getting back on track. These rascals bring me more joy than I could ever put into words. We’ve had our own parades, squirt gun fights, game nights, and countless trips to Wendy’s. These moments will be etched in my heart forever, even if they fade from their young minds. One of our favorite traditions at the end of our visits has been dancing to Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars. So, it felt only fitting that my grandsons introduced me as the bride with festive dancing, while Collin followed up the rear holding a sign that read: IT’S ABOUT TIME.

I have been blessed immensely with 3 boys that I absolutely adore and make me proud to be a mom. They have stood by me through some really tough times since 2011 when my life started to unravel. I think they all sighed a bit of releif when we finally got married, as they knew that I was happy and I had someone to grow old with.

As for me and my partner in crime...we have our moments. We are passionate people. We live life big. We love hard. We fight fiercely. We work too much. We play too little. We love to learn. And we work on getting better as individuals and as a couple, every single day of our lives.