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- I didn’t want to get married again after my divorce unless I had kids. I fell in love and had 2, and we’ve been married for 17 years now. (businessinsider.com)
Second Time’s the Charm: Finding Love, Family, and Finally, Marriage
My first marriage? Let’s just say I was young and not quite ready. It ended after just two years, a blip in the rearview mirror compared to the decades of love I’ve found since.
I met Craig in December 2002, not looking for love, but as they say, life had other plans. He was a bouncer and DJ, and from our first date, it felt like destiny.
We even discovered we had matching coats – talk about a sign! He claims time stopped when he first saw me.
I thought it was a line, but years later, one of his former roommates confirmed he’d said the same thing that very night. He even kept the scrap of paper he’d torn from a cash register to write down my number – still in his wallet 22 years later!
We were inseparable after that first date. We shared the same quirky humor; he dreamed of writing comedy for TV, while I wanted to direct. We planned a cross-country move to Los Angeles, but a pit stop in Maine to save money turned into something more permanent when I became pregnant.
Staying near family felt right, more so than a cross-country leap with a baby on the way. We settled in, got jobs, and welcomed our son, Zach, in 2005.
Eleven months later, surprise! We were expecting again.
Our daughter, Cameran, arrived in 2006. We even used our tax refund to put a down payment on a cozy little house.
Everyone told us we should have gotten married before having kids. But I already had that experience.
This time, marriage would only happen if kids were in the picture. My Catholic grandmother was thrilled when they arrived, but even more eager for us to tie the knot!
Finally, in August 2008, we had a small ceremony at City Hall. The proposal was sweet and simple – on the couch one evening, watching the kids play.
This wedding was a world away from my first. A simple dress, my brother as my man of honor, his brother as best man, and a pizza “reception” with the kids.
It was last minute, and even my grandparents missed it. No honeymoon either, though we’ve taken a couple family trips to Florida.
A real honeymoon is still on the to-do list – maybe for our 20th anniversary?
This time around, the wedding wasn’t the point. The real commitment was our kids, our home, and navigating life’s ups and downs together.
They were our “til death do us part,” not some fancy ceremony. Marriage was a promise to always put our family first.
And it still is.