I told Kyle no one would blame him if he cut and run because he did not sign up for taking in my baby sister and upending our entire life but he looked at me and said, ‘Nope, I’m not going anywhere.’ So there we were, 21 and 22 years old and now (very proud) parents of a very tenacious and precocious 5-year old and living in a one-bedroom apartment!
In 2006, we grew up fast. We bought our first house and shortly after decided it was time to start expanding our family. In December of that year we welcomed our beautiful and brilliant daughter, Zoey, and about two years later had our sweet little man, Cohen. The next few years flew by in a blur. Like all couples and families, we had ups and downs but we were building a life we both loved. With all the craziness of kids, work, and responsibilities, we never forgot about each other. We always made time for ‘us,’ whether it was sneaking off to see a movie or a simple trip to the grocery store, we genuinely just loved spending time together.
In 2015, we were a crazy-busy family of five with a sophomore in high school and two pre-teens; sports and work were about all we had time for. Then, in September, we got a call that year Kyle’s older brother had a medical emergency and passed away unexpectedly. He was a single dad to a 14-year old daughter. Alyssa was a freshmen in high school and, not only cousins, but best friends with Dest, our oldest. The night her dad died, Alyssa came home with us to decompress and have a safe space to grieve. As Kyle and I went to bed, I looked at him and said, ‘You know,’ and he said, ‘I know.’ We made it legal and became her guardians. Alyssa completed our family in a way I cannot describe, it is like when something is missing but you don’t know until you find it. That is our Alyssa.
To say life was crazy for us would be an understatement, but one thing remained the same, and that was Kyle and I were solid. We did life together. We grew up together, we raised our crazy gremlins together, and we loved our family and friends. We loved our life! We never missed an opportunity to adventure. We took the trips, we made the plans, and we never failed to tell each other how much we meant to each other.
And then on October 10, 2018, we got the blow I am still recovering from. That day, it changed everything. Forever.
