If you had shown me this life a few years ago, I probably wouldnt have believed you.
The house full of kids. The dogs. The careers. The comedy shows. Renaissance festivals. Mardi Gras mayhem. The ordinary nights at home. Having someone beside me who puts up with me and genuinely loves me.
Thats Adam.
We met during what was basically the epitome of me trying to pick myself up after a fall.
I had lost everything, including hope. My sister came down to see me when my world came crashing down, and I distinctly remember her saying, You cant see it now, but God has a plan for you. He is going to not only restore what you have lost, but replace it with something better.
I dont think Ive ever side-eyed someone so obviously.
Ever.
I had spent so long living in a box other people made for me that I didnt know my original parts would be the ones he loved most.
But they were.
Every belly laugh. Every colorful, erratic dream. Every part of me I thought needed to be toned down, explained, or kept to myself. He brought them out and loved them exactly as they were.
He became an important part of my boys lives, building a different relationship with each of them that somehow fits their very different, and very rambunctious, personalities. I fell in love with his daughter, and along the way, two lives became a family.
The kids became siblings. Our people became each others people.
Our family is now easier to explain with a diagram.
It may not be traditional, but its ours.
And we love it.
Then came July 4, 2026.
We were at a friends house in Maurepas, and I was far too busy worrying about the kids blowing themselves up with fireworks to notice that EVERYONE around me was acting suspicious.
The kids had known for two weeks.
Two. Weeks.
My oldest son even ordered a wedding-cake-flavored coffee that morning and exchanged a look with Adam right in front of me.
I caught on to absolutely nothing.
At some point during my internal dialogue of please dont lose a limb and why did Adam buy the dog-poop fireworks? Adam moved over near me while the kids were busy with lighters.
Before I could say something about unaccompanied minors, things got weird for a split second.
Because romance is alive and well, Adam had stepped directly in dog poop.
So with Tupac playing in the background and fireworks going off around us, Adam got down on one knee while also trying to wash his foot in a fountain.
I still didnt understand what was happening.
Then I saw the ring.
What followed was a lot of holy shit, tears, laughter, and one extremely important question:
Wait... is THIS why you shaved your head?
It wasnt a perfect movie proposal.
It was so much better than anything I had ever dreamed of.
Because it was ours.
Adam came into my life during one of my hardest chapters and stayed long enough to watch it become one of my happiest. He has loved me loudly, supported every ridiculous idea, and believed in me until I learned how to believe in myself.
I can only hope I come close to being that for him.
And after everything it took for both of us to get here, getting to choose each other feels pretty damn special.
So on April 9, 2027, were making it official.
The kids will be there. Our family and friends will be there. The champagne, jokes, and tears will be flowing.
And well get to look around at this big, weird, beautiful life weve built and know that my sister was right.
Ill probably still side-eye her for it.
He loved her, and that was the beginning and end of everything.