It started 5.5 years ago. That's when I met Will for the first time. It was the beginning of June and I remember that day like it was yesterday (which, as most of you know, I have a horrible memory, so that's a pretty awesome thing). He walked into my office and walked into my life all in the same moment.
Now, you must know that at this time I was a 21 year old, single mom who just had gotten (or was still in the process of TRYING to get out of) an abusive relationship (and no, it wasn't Liem's dad). Not the kind of woman you would want to date or even THINK about (the baggage alone would make any sane man run for the hills) hanging around. I was a mess. I kept telling myself that I was done with dating for a while...that I was going to raise my son and finally be able to do it on my own. That's when HE walked in...
He was pretty cute...alright, he was VERY cute. He started talking about his friend Dan, who had recently passed away from a tragic accident. My ex at the time had sent me roses in an effort to try to get back together (I hid them so Will wouldn't think I was dating anyone...I was a dork). As he finished up his paperwork and walked out the door, my sister in law commented on how nice he looked and what a catch he would be (as opposed to my ex). I joked "I am going to marry that boy someday", to which my niece replied "If you marry him, I get to be in your wedding!"
Around the end of July we started dating. He had just gotten out of a very committed relationship and didn't want to jump back into anything. So, for the next couple of weeks that's what we did. No strings, no anything...until August came.
In August I got to meet his friends from Detroit for the first time. We went up north camping...it was also the same weekend I would find out that my Grandpa Vanderwall had passed away. When I think about that weekend it was bittersweet because even though I lost someone I loved very much, it was also the weekend that Will told me he loved me. He was so comforting about the whole thing...
September he attended Liem's second birthday party, by then we were inseparable.
By the end of October I found out I was pregnant. At this point we had been dating for 3.5 months! Will and I had talked before about children and what were to happen if I had gotten pregnant in casual conversation. I told him I would want to get married and provide the child with a home and two parents (something I unfortunately couldn't do for Liem) and he agreed. I was so nervous for Will's reaction. I didn't know what he would do...we had talked about marriage but would he really do it? It was the longest 24 hours of my life. Will's reaction was one I will never forget...he was over the moon! He couldn't stop smiling and saying "are you sure?" By then I had only taken a home test, so we wanted to make 100% sure by going to the doctors office.
I went to the doctors and found out I was definitely pregnant. When I got home that day and told Will that we were 100% having a baby now, he looked at me and said "we probably should get married now, huh?" (YES, that was his proposal...LOL!). He told me that he wasn't marrying me just because of the baby, but because he loved me (and that the baby was just moving things a long a little faster).
We were married in December...literally 5 months after our first date...6 months since I had first met him and have just celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. And for those of you who were curious, I kept my promise and my niece was one of my bridesmaids in my wedding :)
I know how lucky we are...I chalk our success up to us both being very stubborn about making our marriage work and knowing that as long as we trust in the Lord, everything else will fall into place. Everyday I look at him and realize how blessed I am to have him...that he's my best friend. I think back to that scared, lonely, single mom I was and how in an instant he changed everything. How instead of running away from me, he ran toward me...he promised to be a good step-father to Liem, he gets along with Liem's dad, he's a wonderful father to Killian and he loves me no matter what. God knew what He was doing when He brought Will into my life...we may have done it backwards, but I wouldn't change ANY of it for the world!
Don't get me wrong, we have had our ups and downs, our struggles and our fights...but he completes me, I can honestly say I am in love with him more now then the day we got married...William Prewitt...you are truly the 'rose of my heart'.
Rose of My Heart, by Johnny Cash
We're the best partners this world's ever seen,
Together as close as can be.
But sometimes it's hard to find time in between,
To tell you what you mean to me.
You are the rose of my heart,
You are the love of my life.
A flower not fading nor falling apart,
If you're tired, rest your head on my arm.
Rose of my heart.
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