Johnny and I met when we were working at a data entry center for the post office. We started dating on June 28, 2005. Back then, we had a much different relationship. I was in the middle of a messy divorce and he was coming off of his own bad break-up. We kept our relationship separate from everything else in our lives. We didn't go to each other's homes or bring each other around our kids. We just hung out after work and talked for hours. With everything that was going on in our lives at the time, it was nice to have someone there to lean on. And the more I got to know him, the more I fell in love with him.
I'd never been with someone I had so much in common with. From our views about relationships and parenting to opinions about religion and politics...we were so alike in so many ways. I finally understood what it felt like to find your other half. It was like Johnny was a piece of my soul that I'd never known was missing until he came along. I truly believe he is my soulmate.
At a time when our lives were already so chaotic, it became more and more difficult to find time to see each other. We'd both been offered a career position at work in September, but I was unable to take it because the job required flexible hours and I just couldn't do that while I was in the middle of a custody dispute. But it meant Johnny was working a different shift than I was, so we weren't able to see each other at work anymore. And with his second job and our family obligations, there just weren't enough hours in the day to spend with each other. We went our separate ways in October and we fell out of touch after I stopped working for the post office in December 2005.
Johnny and I didn't actually speak to each other again until I looked him up on Facebook one day in the summer of 2009. We were both in other relationships at the time, but we enjoyed chatting as friends. We didn't see each other again until June 6, 2012 and it felt as though no time had passed at all. We were still just as much in love as we'd always been. We started dating again in August 2012.
Our relationship is unlike any we've ever had before. There is no bickering over trivial things. I can count on one hand the number of actual arguments we've had in the last seven years. We just make it a point to truly be nice to each other...which is surprisingly overlooked in a lot of relationships. You get caught up in the things going on around you or allow yourself to become resentful about things and the niceties tend to not be a priority. But even after all this time, Johnny and I still hold hands everywhere we go. We say "I love you" in nearly every text message we send to each other. We say please and thank you and we always try to help each other. We don't tell each other what to do and we try to be appreciative. It's just a very loving relationship where both of us are committed to making it last forever. And he truly makes me happier than I've ever been. We can be doing absolutely nothing at all except sitting in front of the TV watching our favorite show in our pajama pants...and there's nowhere else I'd rather be.
Johnny also has a wonderful relationship with my daughters. I couldn't have chosen a better man to be their stepdad. The best gift Johnny has ever given me is the wonderful example we set for my kids. They can see what a good relationship looks like...where two people love, respect, and never give up on each other. He also tends to be the "good cop" to my "bad cop" so it balances out the girls' lives a little bit. ;) They love to hang out with Johnny and they have fun telling jokes and being silly.
We were married on our fifth anniversary in August 2017. We had a beautiful wedding at the lake where we spent a lot of time together back in 2005. We wanted something small but meaningful...a special day to celebrate with our family.
Our wedding party consisted of my daughters as bridesmaids, my nieces as flower girls, and Johnny's son and step-son as his groomsmen (Johnny's daughter and her family were living out of town at the time and couldn't make it). It was a short, relaxed ceremony officiated by my sister (pictured next to Johnny...and ordained by the Universal Life Church) followed by a pot luck reception. My cousin took photos for us and helped my mom and sister with hair and make-up.
We had a peacock theme in jewel tone colors. Aside from the cake, we did everything ourselves. We already had the arch and some of the supplies from previous weddings. We purchased the rest of the supplies on sale (and with coupons) from Michaels and Hobby Lobby. The girls and I found our dresses at Ross Dress for Less (all three for about $50 total!) as well as the mosaic vases. Johnny's pants, shirt, and tie came from Kohls (yay for Kohls cash!) and we just asked the groomsmen to wear black pants and a white button-up shirt. It was a beautiful wedding that we put together for less than $1000.
Everything came together beautifully. We played "Everything I Do" by Bryan Adams at the beginning of the ceremony as I walked in. I wanted an 80's love ballad...but 1991 is close enough, right? ;) My sister and I wrote up the ceremony ourselves to be unique to me and Johnny. We had also had a sand ceremony with my daughter's and Johnny's son and step-son as "Overjoyed" by Matchbox 20 played in the background. Rob Thomas and Matchbox 20 have always had a special place in our relationship... and we've seen him in concert together twice. :) So picking that song was easy. And immediately after our wedding ceremony, we took pictures with all our guests and enjoyed a potluck dinner and yummy cake. It was nice being able to casually chat with everyone...and the air-conditioning was definitely a must because it was a typical HOT August day in Kansas.
It was one of the very best days of my life and I'm still so excited to be married to my best friend. I look forward to every single day I get to spend with the love of my life...my husband. :)