On February 20, 2008 my life was about to change in a way I never expected. That's when Joseph and I began dating. He was a senior and I was a sophomore. I liked the serious relationships and he liked to be the player type. I was outgoing, loud, obnoxious, free spirited. He was quiet, hated socializing, kept to himself and kept a small group of friends. But somehow we balanced each other out and began to make our weak points in our personalities stronger.We just fell so deep in love with each other and from then on we were inseparable. Every waking moment was on the phone, hanging out or talking on the computer. I just can't explain it but he was different. I dated a lot of mean and immature guys and I could just tell there was something special about him. But of course just like any other couple we fought: A LOT! We threatened break ups but we couldn't go through with it. It was just too strong to let go.
School went on for me but he was finally done so we both decided to try and get jobs to make going out more fun so we could actually afford to do things. I worked at the movie theater in the concession area and he got a job at the university doing lawn work. It helped us out a lot. I could pick my work schedule and he only worked 5 days a week. We had it made or so I thought...
Apparently Joseph was having second thoughts about school, his job and just life in general. (He's not an expressive person so the whole time I had no clue what was going on.) He started going to the recruiting station getting info about the Marine Corps. He couldn't join any other service since he comes from a whole family of former Marines. It was something he grew a great interest in and he signed up to go to Denver to take tests and see what he jobs he would qualify for.
So around that time we had been together for only 6 months. He came to visit me at work on my break and told me he was interested in joining. I was in shock because he told me how often he was going there and talking but I never thought he'd actually go through with it. He told me about going to Denver and all that so I just said okay see you in a few days. Well I get a phone call the day before he's due home saying, "Babe I signed up for the Marines." I was crushed. Not only did he not tell me he would be doing that but he didn't discuss it with me at all or even ask how I felt. I panicked. I didn't know how any of it worked, i'm not from a military family. I panicked!! What does all this mean for us I thought over and over again. I waited for him to come home and the next day he told me everything. But all I thought about was us being apart for so long when we had only been together for 6 months.
He told me I didn't have to stay with him if I didn't want to, from that point I knew he wasn't changing his mind. I tried though! I looked at him and said, "The only way i'll stay with you is if we get engaged." I was not about to put myself through all that just to get my heart broken. He agreed. He finally told everyone he was going and of course it was mixed feelings.
Then we received an unexpected surprise. A month after he joined, we found out I was pregnant. We wanted a family but in the future. I was terrified and he was happier than ever. For some reason I could not get excited. We told my mom right away and she was disappointed but supportive. We sat there figuring out what the heck we were going to do but we just let it go for the night.
I was scared because he was leaving for boot camp in 2 months and I would be going through this pregnancy alone while trying to finish school. We didn't tell anyone I was pregnant till a month after we found out. I was scared of my dad and what he would do. We thought about marriage and we wanted to try and do it before he left for boot camp.
We sat down and talked to my parents and told my dad about it. He was mad of course and we dropped the marriage idea and he just straight up said "Hell no. You are not getting married at 17." I didn't really expect him to say yes but we tried. We told his parents as well and they were all mixed up because of the whole marine thing. But they were supportive and helped us out.
The days grew shorter and shorter as boot camp came close. And the morning, well any time sickness kicked in and then it all became real. December 14 was just around the corner.
And just like that it came and he was gone...
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