I have been thinking about this post for some time now. I just can't help but fall in love with Jeremy more and more each day when I see him with Caroline. Jeremy had written a blog post called, "A Mother's Love" back in December 2015, when Caroline was just a little over two weeks old and I felt that it was my turn, to talk about the love Jeremy has. (Warning- this post will be mushy and sentimental!)
Jeremy and I met after we had both graduated high school. Ironically enough we went to the same high school but never spoke to each other. But the summer after and my freshmen year of college we had some mutual friends and started hanging out. I knew I liked Jeremy the moment I met him. I know that sounds cliche, but I knew he was someone I wanted to be with. We kind of dated on and off the first year I met him. I was away at school and although it was only an hour away, the distance became an obstacle. Finally, on April 23, 2006, Jeremy had gotten a plastic ring from a quarter machine and asked me to be his girlfriend. It was cheesy but cute and I was excited. We were determined to make it work. We dated through college, he finally got in Longwood and would join me at school for a year until I graduated then the roles reversed. I was home and he was away at school. We had our tough times, being young and trying to make things work, but things seemed to stick. No matter what happened or the distance between us, we always found a way to work things out and be together.
Fast forward 5 years later on a trip to DC to visit friends of ours one fourth of July weekend. We took the train up and spent that afternoon and evening with friends. I just knew that Jeremy would propose that night so I made sure to be dressed up a little bit more and was very excited. Well, he didn't propose that night. I was so bummed because I thought for sure he would! We had just found out that day that the offer we made on the house was accepted. So we spent the next day exploring the city and we finally made our way back to the hotel around 7 that evening. We were both so exhausted. Jeremy was going downstairs to get a couple drinks and then watch the fireworks from the window in our hotel room. We were too tired to adventure out to go see them so we figured since we had a good view to just stay in. Well, as we were watching them out the window, Jeremy tapped my shoulder and when I turned around, there was a beautiful ring in his hand! I cried and he cried and then he finally got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I later found out, when Jeremy went downstairs to get drinks, he also called my dad to ask permission and in the background you could hear my brother, Jeff, yell out "It's about damn time!" One of the most memorable moments of life.
A year later we were married, standing at the front of the church I had grown up in, in front of our families and friends, vowing to love each other for the rest of our lives. It was such a fun day and almost surreal. I was getting to do life with this guy I had been with for 6 years and couldn't imagine anything better. After we got married in 2012, we moved in our first house and started on our journey together. The first year of marriage is tough. You are learning to spend every day with someone and you need to find routines and what works and it took time to get things sorted out. We were both working and I had (finally) gotten a job teaching. None the less, we loved each other day in and day out and did whatever it took to make things work.
In 2014, I became pregnant and had a miscarriage at 9 weeks. It was a whirlwind of emotions in such a short time and it was new experience for us both. We had celebrated love and excitement which turned into loss and sorrow. But, we did it together. I had never seen Jeremy in that way before. The comfort and strength he gave to me during that time....it was unreal. It was everything I needed and it came from the one person who meant the most. We moved on from it together and knew one day, we would welcome a baby of our own. We bought a new house and spent time working on the house and our careers. Finally, in March 2015, I had gotten a call from the doctor to confirm that I was indeed pregnant again. I had taken 8 at home pregnancy tests, 6 being negative and two with a possible VERY faint line. So I ended up having bloodwork drawn to confirm. They called with the results saying that I was pregnant but my numbers were very low so I needed to repeat it the next day. If the numbers did not increase, then I could have possibly had another miscarriage. Needless to say that night, we didn't sleep. I was convinced I had miscarried again and was so very anxious for the next day. Well I had the bloodwork done and my numbers had doubled.....we were officially pregnant again! I was very nervous and anxious as I didn't want the same thing to happen again. We finally made it to our first appointment with the doctor around 12 weeks and was relieved to hear the heart beat and knew this was it, we were going to have a baby! We spent the next few months celebrating and settling in to knowing we would welcome our little one in December that year.
As I have shared before, gender reveal day came around and we found out that there was something wrong with our baby. Little did we know from that day, the journey we would be on from there. I had seen Jeremy in times of sorrow when we experienced our first miscarriage but the person he became after finding out about Caroline was incredible. He became my "person" that was so full of hope and encouragement...saying things to me constantly like, "We will do whatever we need to", "She will be perfect for us", "We can do this together". I was so overwhelmed and in shock and I was even more worried (in a weird way) that Jeremy would resent me, thinking this was my fault. I was so wrong about those feelings and he was the complete opposite. I couldn't have made it through those last few months without his support. I knew that this was meant to be, that our love and life and our sweet little girl was all meant to be. We saw several specialists for the remaining months, monitoring our sweet girl, and finally, on Thanksgiving Day our little girl arrived via c-section. She was beautiful and perfect in every way to us.
Our sweet Caroline is 15 months old now and we are learning every day from her. It has been an adventure and I have to say, I have the best teammate possible. I can't describe in words the love Jeremy has for Caroline. He absolutely adores her, every single day. His love and compassion for her is remarkable. I always knew he would be a good father but seeing him with her...it melts my heart every single time. I am so thankful to have him in my life. The love and support he provides us is amazing. I never would have thought that 11 years ago, when I met him, this is where we would be...but I wouldn't change it for anything. Everything is just where it is meant to be. We are learning and growing each day, thanks to our sweet girl, who has brought so much love and adventure into our life. Who knows where the next 11 years will take us but I am just thankful to have this man by my side. I know we will be able to tackle anything that comes our way. I am so thankful to have gotten the chance to see Jeremy grow in such a way that makes my heart happy. I know that he will continue to grow into an even more wonderful father and husband.
We love you, Jeremy. Thank you for being you!
Love,
Julie and Caroline
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