Everybody says that the first year of marriage is the hardest to get through. I thought for sure that was ridiculous and that our first year would be Perfect, but it turned out, we were not exempt. Matt's and my first year was an absolute roller coaster. Here's our story:
Matt and I met just a few weeks before his senior prom in high school. Ironically enough, my best friend was his date. I was asked by a friend of his which put us in the same group. A few short weeks after prom he asked me out and we started dating. Matt and I dated for a year. It was a rocky year with lots of break ups and getting back together. Through it all though we fell in love. Three months before I graduated from high school Matt asked me to marry him. Crazy right? Even crazier, I said yes. The world would tell you our marriage was doomed to fail from the moment it started, but I never did like being a part of the norm.
Matt and I met just a few weeks before his senior prom in high school. Ironically enough, my best friend was his date. I was asked by a friend of his which put us in the same group. A few short weeks after prom he asked me out and we started dating. Matt and I dated for a year. It was a rocky year with lots of break ups and getting back together. Through it all though we fell in love. Three months before I graduated from high school Matt asked me to marry him. Crazy right? Even crazier, I said yes. The world would tell you our marriage was doomed to fail from the moment it started, but I never did like being a part of the norm.
We were married in my neighborhood church literally the day after I graduated from high school. After our honeymoon, we were off to Arizona to start our new jobs and live with my grandma rent free. It didn't take long for the homesickness to set in. And not long after that, I realized I was pregnant. We were excited and a little shocked, not sure if we were capable of being parents when we weren't even living in our own home yet. A few months later we quit our jobs and moved back home. First we lived with my parents and then we lived with his. Finally we were making enough money, when I was about 4 months along to get our own tiny studio apartment.
It was at this point we realized we really needed a plan, a focus. We found it the day we stepped into the Air Force recruiting office. We listened as the recruiter talked to us for an hour or so and it felt So right. We knew that this was what we needed to be doing. A short while later Matt joined the US Air Force. At that point we thought "Great! Now we're all set!" We didn't realize it would take until the end of that year to get a job and even with a job, Matt wouldn't be leaving for Basic until the next March. Our baby was due in March.
We continued the next few months working, Matt working two jobs and me working less and less hours as staying on my feet became harder. We added a kitten to our family as a companion for me for when Matt would be gone to Basic Training. In February I quit my job and Matt took on extra hours so we could put enough money away to survive until his first Air Force paycheck.
March came and so did our baby boy (referred to here as Big Brother). Worst Labor Ever, just saying. He brought Matt and I closer together than we had ever been in the past nine months. Sadly, March also brought Basic Training. Matt left at the end of that month and we spent the next eight weeks apart. It was the longest eight weeks of our lives. It was especially hard for Matt to miss his first son in the first few months of his life.
Basic training ended the last week of May and Matt's father, little brother, Big Brother, and I all took a road trip to Texas to see Matt graduate from Basic. Yay for 30 hour drives! It was a bitter sweet weekend as at it's end I had to return home and Matt had to head to Technical School. He surprised me that weekend though with the best news Ever. He told me that his Technical School was long enough that the Air Force would pay for Big Brother and I to move to Texas to live with him. It was a dream come true and I counted down the days to when we'd be a family again.
We were finally brought together again in July and everything has been uphill since. June was our first anniversary so as you can see, our first year held a Lot of trials all jamb-packed nicely for us. Marriage has been such a wonderful experience. It's been hard for sure, but I love it so much more than my life before it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. So a message to all those newlyweds out there who are told that the first year is the worst: Yes, it is, but hold on, it goes faster than you think and it is so worth it in the end.
It was at this point we realized we really needed a plan, a focus. We found it the day we stepped into the Air Force recruiting office. We listened as the recruiter talked to us for an hour or so and it felt So right. We knew that this was what we needed to be doing. A short while later Matt joined the US Air Force. At that point we thought "Great! Now we're all set!" We didn't realize it would take until the end of that year to get a job and even with a job, Matt wouldn't be leaving for Basic until the next March. Our baby was due in March.
We continued the next few months working, Matt working two jobs and me working less and less hours as staying on my feet became harder. We added a kitten to our family as a companion for me for when Matt would be gone to Basic Training. In February I quit my job and Matt took on extra hours so we could put enough money away to survive until his first Air Force paycheck.
March came and so did our baby boy (referred to here as Big Brother). Worst Labor Ever, just saying. He brought Matt and I closer together than we had ever been in the past nine months. Sadly, March also brought Basic Training. Matt left at the end of that month and we spent the next eight weeks apart. It was the longest eight weeks of our lives. It was especially hard for Matt to miss his first son in the first few months of his life.
Basic training ended the last week of May and Matt's father, little brother, Big Brother, and I all took a road trip to Texas to see Matt graduate from Basic. Yay for 30 hour drives! It was a bitter sweet weekend as at it's end I had to return home and Matt had to head to Technical School. He surprised me that weekend though with the best news Ever. He told me that his Technical School was long enough that the Air Force would pay for Big Brother and I to move to Texas to live with him. It was a dream come true and I counted down the days to when we'd be a family again.
We were finally brought together again in July and everything has been uphill since. June was our first anniversary so as you can see, our first year held a Lot of trials all jamb-packed nicely for us. Marriage has been such a wonderful experience. It's been hard for sure, but I love it so much more than my life before it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. So a message to all those newlyweds out there who are told that the first year is the worst: Yes, it is, but hold on, it goes faster than you think and it is so worth it in the end.