A Very Happy Anniversary

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The day we became a family

Hubby and I were married on a Thursday afternoon at 3:30. I was in nursing school, and was in class all day happily studying with a big old Cheshire grin on my face. I didn’t tell very many people we were getting married, because honestly, it was insane and I really didn’t need anyone to tell me that. We had been dating for only nine months when he proposed, the Saturday before we were married. The “engagement” lasted less than a week, but when you know, you know.

I met Hubby online through a dating website. We had talked for about a week during every waking moment before I agreed to meet him in person. I had very little free time, so I told him to come into the restaurant where I was working, and we could chat a little bit. I figured this would give me a safe “out” if he looked like a creeper since I didn’t commit to an actual date. He came in, and was so much more handsome than I had imagined. I tripped, spilling a full tray of water on another waitress (which he found cute) and he ordered a ridiculous amount of Sushi so I would keep coming back to talk to him (which I found charming). Eventually, my boss had enough of our antics, and told me I could go home early, and told him to take me out instead of flirting in the restaurant. Hubby took me for a milkshake after my shift, and the rest is history.

He was the man who didn’t bat an eye when I told him I wasn’t ready to introduce him to my two young sons for the first few months we were dating, but then immediately understood that almost every “date” after meeting them would include them. He took us for pizza, and played arcade games, met us for picnics at the playground, and treated my boys like princes.

If the boys were princes, I was treated like a queen. When I met Hubby, I was about as down on my luck as a girl with a loving family could be. At one point, I was enrolled in three different colleges, one for my nursing license (a full time program), Chico State to finish my bachelor’s degree (where I was taking 16 units- also full time), and the local Junior college where I was taking one more class for the same degree. All those classes don’t come free, so I was also working (for a few months, at two different restaurants) waiting tables all weekend, and almost every night.

Even with all the work I was doing, and all the support from my parents with the free rent and childcare, I was still barely getting by. I was drowning; tired, overworked, overwhelmed, and broke as broke can be. He was the man who understood that the rare date night alone meant I would be sleeping on his couch instead of watching the movie. He was the man who secretly went out to put gas in my car while I was asleep because he knew I had trouble affording the gas to get back and forth between school, work and dates with him.

He never treated me like I was anything less than a queen, even when I wasn’t sure I was worth the space I was taking up in this world. My kids and I were loved and cared for and spoiled. He wooed me over the most amazing meals, which he cooked. He helped me study for tests, listened to me vent at three in the morning when the babies (whom I shared a small room with) wouldn’t sleep, and saved the day more times than I’d like to admit when I ran out of gas on the side of the road due to lack of funds and over-tiredness. He’s selfless. He’s loving. He’s funny, and oh-so-handsome.

He proposed right after driving me 8 hours north of where we lived to Chico so I could attend my graduation ceremony. That day, waiting for my turn to walk across the stage, I realized that I really *was* going to survive this season of my life. I had my bachelors degree that I wanted so badly. I had two beautiful children. I had a man who loved me enough to make sure I wouldn’t miss the chance to walk at the ceremony, and was cheering for me in the stands. I was just a few months away from graduating from nursing school and life was good. That night, when he slipped a ring on my finger, I cried happy tears.

We were married at 3:30 on a sidewalk in front of a city office and I wore a 10 dollar dress from the clearance rack. My mother put together the most beautiful flowers, and made our side of the road wedding as beautiful as it could be for me, even though she only had 4 days’ notice and probably thought I was indeed insane (but, supported me anyway). Hubby looked at me like I was the most important girl in the world. I held his hand, and the hand of my then 4 year old Son, and we became a family.

For dinner, we went to Texas roadhouse grill with my parents, who surprised us with a “wedding cake” my mom had helped the boys make. It was Ding Dongs, glued together in a tower, and decorated by a 2 and 4 year old. It was the most beautiful cake ever. We spent our wedding night at the drive in with the kids (I have no idea what movie we saw….) and shared those Ding Dongs with all his friends and co-workers.

It was the perfect wedding day. It was low-key, it was a little bit goofy, and it was so completely us. We are both so headstrong, both a little insane and both madly in love with each other and our little family. I love that life can be a little messy, and still be perfect for us. I am so grateful for the last 3 years of wedded bliss, and I am looking forward to many more happy years with this amazing man.

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3 Comments

  1. I can’t believe you spilled your tray. That is the kind of goof-ball move that I would have made. Hilarious!

    Happy Anniversary!

  2. Wow, this is truly a fairy tale love story. Happily ever after and all! The entire time I was reading it I had a big ol’ goofy smile on my face. Isn’t it wonderful when we find the ones we are meant to be with right in the middle of the most chaotic times in our lives? And even better when they love our children as if they were our own? It worked out that way for me too. I’m sure you, like me, would have it no other way. Happy Anniversary!!!

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