You read that title and thought wow.. no way, but indeed, yes way.
My husbands name is John. He’s very loving, caring, and respectful. He is two years older than me, and he’s honestly the better part of me. If you want to know just how I snagged this beautiful man, keep reading…
It started back in high school. Most of us girls know that one guy that tries so hard to be with us, but he’s just not our “type.” That was John for me. We were friends on snapchat, and he followed me on Instagram for years, such a romantic start. What would we do without social media? Anyway, he would consistently ask me to hangout and my response was always “Ehh I’m busy, but maybe some other time,” knowing good and well I was not going to hangout with him. I would post a “selfie” on my Snapchat story and he’d always reply with heart eyes emoji, or tell me I was beautiful. You’re probably thinking “okay Hannah, he’s sweet, why didn’t you bother giving him a chance then?” We’ll for starters, he had a reputation, and not a good one if you ask me. I knew about all of the girls he would hang around, or talked to. We went to two completely different school districts but word still travelled. I didn’t want that. I was also in and out of a “serious” relationship (if you can even call it that) for 4 years. That’s all I had known. I continued to ignore him. I graduated high school and he was still calling me pretty on my Snapchat. I moved 2 hours away from my hometown, and finally deleted him. I was in the same town as my then boyfriend. Life happened and I was there for a while. Never heard anything else from him. He had a “girlfriend” anyway. They were always talking and being cute on Twitter.
2018 comes, I’m single, back in my hometown, and enjoying myself. January the 7th he had posted a picture on the Gram and I slid right into his DM’s. Why the change of heart? I wanted something different, something new. I was always in the same circle with the same people. Call it adventurous. I told him he was cute, he said I was cute. He accused me of blocking him on Snapchat, which I did NOT, but I had deleted him, so I added him back. We exchanged numbers a week later. I didn’t give my phone number to just anyone. I could tell from the start of our conversations that he was so goofy. He was always making me laugh. He had just lost his job, and I tried to encourage him, and let him know there are other things to do out there. I was supportive of every idea that he had. I laid my whole life on the table from the start, because trust me, it was a mess, and if he didn’t want any part of it, he needed to decide then and there. Still January, my cousin was coming down for a weekend visit, and her and I were just going to chill. I went to meet her so she could follow me to my house, and then John messaged me. He had a spur of the moment idea to drive 35 minutes to my town so he could see me.. FOR THE FIRST TIME. We had never met in real life. It was all just over social media. I told Alexis, and invited her along with me. I was so nervous, and I NEVER get nervous. He picked us up and we drove to Steak N’ Shake for some milkshakes of course. I shared one with my cousin. I couldn’t even make eye contact. I had so many butterflies in my stomach. He was so cute, and he seemed just as sweet as he was over texts. He left and I just knew I HAD to have him. Two days later, I was spending the night with him. Just TWO days..
Everything with John seemed so easy. We laughed and just really enjoyed each other. We kept everything private. No one knew I was spending time with him like that, except my mom and my cousin. It was fun. The first night, we barely touched each other, I mean duh, it was the first night. I did end up kissing him before we fell asleep and he just smiled and said “I was afraid you weren’t going to kiss me.” It just felt right. You know when you just KNOW you’re meant to do something? Well being with John is something I just KNEW that I needed. From that day on, we spent almost every single day together. I was heartbroken when he told me about joining the military. I was afraid that being apart, he would realize he didn’t need me. Me being selfish of course. February 19th he was leaving. We had to drop him off in a different state to get ready to go to Basic Training. I cried. He even cried. It was the first time I had ever seen him cry, and I wasn’t a fan to say the least. I wanted him happy. I wanted him to know I was here for him. He hadn’t even asked me to be his girlfriend yet, but I still felt like that was my place. It was my place to support and love him. I had wanted to tell him I loved him from the start, but it was too early. It was just a feeling he gave to me. The day we were dropping him off is the day he asked me to be his girl. Of course I said yes. I wanted so badly to be with him. I think it was his test of “how much does she really want me.” He was leaving for 9 months.
He was in basic now, writing me letters and calling every chance he had. Many nights I cried just wanting to be with him. I grew so attached to him in such a short amount of time. It was scary. I had never felt that way about any other person my entire life. The second week of March I started having “weird” things happen to me. I couldn’t eat my favorite foods, I had to constantly use the bathroom. I couldn’t smoke cigarettes anymore without gagging. I couldn’t even button my pants, I felt so bloated. On March 19th I took 4 pregnancy tests. FOUR. All positive within just seconds. I was so afraid. Would he want to still be with me? Will he be okay? That’s a big responsibility, I didn’t want to take his whole young life away to help me raise a baby. After I did a blood test just to be 100% sure (like I needed it), I broke the news to John. He was so excited. It was such a relief that he was willing to be partners with me now, for eternity. We were having a baby!
Months go on, and I’m able to travel to Oklahoma to watch my soulmate graduate and continue on to AIT. It was the first time we had laid eyes on each other in months, and I was already showing a little bit. It was a miserable car ride there, and I was in a mood. I felt bad because we were supposed to be having fun, and celebrating Johns achievement. We stayed for a couple days. I was so tired most of the time and wasn’t in the mood for much, but he never failed to make me smile. Once we left and he began AIT, he was able to text or call me every night. He always wanted “bumpdates” of the baby. I felt so insecure gaining my pregnancy weight, because I had always been pretty thin. He always made me feel beautiful though.
He was able to come back to our hometowns for a visit before going on to Texas to begin learning more of his job. It was late August. I had just recently lost my Nanny. I was a complete mess, but he kept me grounded. He always made it clear that there is a light at the end of any tunnel, and he travelled each of those tunnels with me. September 6th, we said “I do.” I was scared at first. His mom pressured the whole getting married situation because of the baby. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want that kind of commitment for the wrong reasons. I mean, he’d be marrying me, not the baby. Does that make sense? I wanted him to WANT to marry me because he loved me, endlessly. I wanted him to be sure that I was everything he wanted and then some. I needed him to realize the changes that meant, for us, as a unit. We were in our early twenties, so I wanted him to be 100% sure that his early years and being young, that was over. We were having a baby and marriage was talked about here and there. He insisted he wanted to marry me for the right reasons. I held off for months before I even entertained the conversation of saying “I do.” My grandfather was the one to marry us. It was important and special to me that he was able to do that, considering I had just lost my nanny. I wanted it at her home. I spent my whole pregnancy with her, basically, and it just felt right to do it that way.
November 6th, John had came home the day before, and boom! It’s time for baby! My beautiful boy was born November the 6th at 11:11 p.m. He was my entire world just wrapped up in a little receiving blanket. He looked so much like his daddy, and he still does. He’s Johns little clone just walking around. The Erni’s were now 3. We were parents. We were so full of happiness. A week after Declan, that’s my sons name, was born, we moved to Texas to be with John. I didn’t want to raise my son without his daddy, even though my whole family as well as Johns were somewhere else, I wanted to be there, with him. He was going to be stationed in Texas for three years. I had the chance to let him be with his son, so I took it. I don’t regret it, but I do miss my family sometimes, and the help I would’ve gotten from them. I’m happy to be here, with my little family, don’t get me wrong!
Anyway, morale of the story is, ladies, give that guy a chance. The buggy guy who always says you’re pretty, and wants to hangout every chance they get. You never know, that could be the one. John was my one. I will forever love him. It’s not just this little “young” love, we “don’t know what we want” type of thing. We married. We have a family. Despite our age, he makes me the happiest. He’s changed my view on life, and the way I approach my problems. We learn and we grow, together. Always & Forever.
Military: Stay at Home Mom Edition 