How The Jeffersons Fell In Love, Part Two

 

There are a couple of things I left out of part one, only because I’ve talked about it so much that I figured people already really know. But maybe you don’t.

What I left out: When I first saw my husband, I was convinced we would get married. In fact, I told my friends that very afternoon that I just met my husband. They kind of laughed and went on their way, but we did, in fact, get married almost exactly four years later. 

When my husband and I first got together, it was like magic. I was spending all my free time with him and it still didn’t feel like enough. My previous boyfriend was *shudder* a nightmare. Like, just utterly and completely wrong for me in all the ways that mattered and I was so thankful to be in a grown-up relationship with a grown-up.

But I still had some growing up to do. I had to let go of the baggage from my previous relationship and learn to accept my new boyfriend for who he was. I was horribly insecure but he stuck in there with me. I was horribly jealous, but he showed me he was trustworthy. I had unrealistic expectations of what love could be, but he helped me see that “perfect” isn’t possible but “genuine” is preferable.

And he had his share of flaws too. One was his inability to let me in fully. He would keep things bottled up inside, never wanting to share how he really felt. I had to show him that I, too, was trustworthy and he could lean on me if necessary.

We spent most holidays together and saw each other a few times a week. When he graduated with his Master’s degree, I asked my family to help me throw him a graduation party. I knew this was a forever type of love before we made it a forever type of love.

Less than six months into our relationship (around the end of 2004), we went out to dinner and then walked around the mall. I was very, very full so I didn’t feel like doing a bunch of walking, particularly when we were two broke folks and just spent all of our spending money at the restaurant. He urged me to keep walking and we ended up in the jewelry store. “Can you tell me where the promise rings are?” he asked the saleswoman. Whaaa? He bought it then and there and I kicked myself for being so ornery about walking around! LOL

In January 2006, we got into an argument about something. What it was, I can’t remember. But at some point I blurted out, “How do I know you even care about me?!”

He didn’t say anything, just reached in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper and handed it to me. It was a receipt for an engagement ring, which he had already made two significant payments on. “Now do you believe I’m serious about our relationship?”

I was speechless.

Click here for part three – the pregnancy. LOL