Hi all. I''m a LIW and here''s my story.
My boyfriend and I actually met 12 years ago. I was 17 - he was 22. I was a senior in high school attending EMT school by night, a Jr. Firefighter and a part time dispatcher working at my local small town Fire Dept. He was hired on as a brand new Paramedic at 22. We obviously had a strong connection, but never had a chance to explore as I was still in high school and a relationship would''ve been inappropriate at that time. Life took us separate ways - he got hired on at a bigger city as Medic/Firefighter and shortly after I left and went to a "rivalry" dept. of his. We had mutual friend in common, so on a rare occasion I would hear something about him. I knew he had gotten married, had 2 kids, and was still working for CJC Fire. We had a random glance at each other around 6 years after the last time we''d seen each other. He was attending a class at my Fire Dept. and I had gone into the auditorium to use the restroom when I saw him standing close by the water fountain talking to someone. Our eyes had locked in disbelief. When I left the auditorium, I threw a glance over my shoulder to be sure it was him, and he was staring back at me. I remember going back into dispatch in shock. Nothing came of that day.
I myself had gone through my series of relationship wrecks through the years. One year ago at this exact time, I got a friend request from him on Facebook. It had been 11 years since we''d talked at that point. I was 6 months out of a divorce, (a 5 year relationship) with a 1 1/2 old son. I''m an independent woman, with a 12 year career in the fire service, bought my own home at 25 and was settling in nicely to the groove of being a happy single mother taking care of business and focusing everything on my son, career & home. I wasn''t looking nor felt I was ready for any serious relationship. I accepted his FB friend request, we began chatting online, catching up. That led to phone calls. I remember the first time I heard his voice on the phone it was as if no time had passed and here was my friend Terry
He was at the end of his 11 year marriage, which I wanted nothing to do with since I had already been down that road. He kept asking me out for lunch, I wasn''t interested. We continued to talk on the phone, but hadn''t seen each other in person, I kept putting it off afraid of what might be between us without his divorce being final.
One day he cornered me. He knew where my sister lived and I was babysitting, he was substitute teaching at the school down the street. He said he was coming by to see me, no excuses, no more putting him off (this was months after turning him down for lunch). I literally had less than 5 minutes to throw a bra, decent clothes & some makeup on. He pulled up in this big nice truck and got out. I was nervous, he didn''t appear to be. We chit chatted, or I nervously bantered with him. Then he starts laughing, I look into the yard to see my niece decided to pull her pants down and go pee right there! I was mortified, took her inside, changed her etc. he thought it was hysterical. We said goodbye I went in for a hug and he quickly stole a kiss on the lips! So quick I was like did he seriously just kiss me on the lips?? He asked me to come by his house when I left as he doesn''t live too far from my sister. I debated, seriously, but I did. I stopped by to see his house and when I going to leave he kissed me again, this time I let him, but it was awkward! We''d never kissed, we hadn''t seen each other in 11 years, I was out of a divorce, he was just getting into one. I kept saying neither of us were ready.
So I didn''t see him for awhile after that even though we continued to talk on the phone and FB. We spent so many hours on the phone from March to June, he gently broke down all the walls I had built around my heart, without even knowing it and I showed him that it doesn''t matter what life has thrown at you, you can take it in stride, be a loving, happy & kind person. We had become so close. He told me he''d never stopped thinking about me after all these years, I was always on his mind at some point. All the what if''s, if only''s. All the heartaches we had endured alone in our previous relationships, I think we were brought back together so we''d know how to truly appreciate each other for who we are. Finally June 6 09 I let him take me out to dinner, movie, and we went to see a friends band play. It was a great night. He had thrown out the "Love ya''s" on the phone before, it seemed so natural, but I had always separated "different kinds of love" to him and we both agreed we were saying it as in that was a friendship kind of love. I had a trip planned out of town for a weekend adventure with my American Ghost Hunter group. It was my first trip alone in my life, I was enjoying the freedom and vitality it brought. That weekend late in the early morning of one of our talks - he ended the conversation with "I love you"...I said excuse me? Did you just say "I" love you? Instead of just the "love ya''s"? He said yes. I said when did that happen? He said it happened 11 years ago when he met my spitfire spirit, cussing like a sailor with a beautiful smile on my face with the guys at the fire dept. I let him know I wasn''t at that point with him, nor was he ready for anything, he needed his own time.
He let me keep my denial for a few months and never pushed the issue. But I remember the night I knew I was in love with him too. I was really sick w/ a cold/fever, just got off a 12 hour shift and he wanted to come take care of me and my son. I was too tired to fight his persistancy so I let him. He promptly came over, took my temp, gave me some medicine, the remote and made me lay down on the couch. He put my son to bed, and cleaned my house! I fell asleep, he woke me up and took me to bed. I remember in the middle of the night I awoke to my body shaking & wracking hard w/ fever, he promptly pulled me close, wrapped me in his arms and legs, pulled the covers over us and held me tight. I don''t know how long I was like that but I remember in that moment I realized no matter what the situation was, there was no more denying I was irrevocably in love with him, not matter how hard I had tried to keep him at bay.
I stood by him and went through his struggles. His divorce was finalized a few months after. His ex is major drama baggage and continues to be even though she has a ring on her left finger from a man she''s been with just as long as him and I have been. He has his kids all the time except when he''s on duty. We have blended our family well in providing a stable home environment. We both have the same life goals, we balance each other, and understand the stresses & demands of our careers. I think it''s very difficult for people in the emergency field to have a true understanding unless you are in it. We have so much fun together, it''s just all fallen into place.
He started talking about rings this past November, we knew that is where we wanted our relationship to go. We''d both been in relationships, but alone and we were ready to take on the world and our family together. We went to a few "maul" stores to look at rings - we had completely different tastes. I like vintage/modern he liked solitaires or w side stones, he liked icy white D''s, I like warmer colors G-I, he wanted a bigger center stone, I like smaller. We chose to do a custom ring. We were looking online and we stumbled across a beautiful Asscher halo ring that both caught us by surprise. I am familiar with all cuts, but I never considered an Asscher would be for me! He had never seen one, I''ve only seen them online, but never IRL. He was overly intrigued by this interesting unique step cut as he was in the frame of mind of RB for the most blingage. He asked me to email him a few pics, I gave him names and #''s of people I would trust to do quality custom work. (I''ve been a lurker on this board and another for several years). Last month we chose our stone, cert. .52 I Asscher, we had it sent straight to our vendor to inspect as we don''t know what a "great" stone would be. He checked it out and assured us it was a beautiful stone and got a great deal on it. I know I''m getting an asscher halo w/ a vintage/modern look. I know it''s supposed to be done in the next month. I know he said he didn''t plan on hanging onto it once he received it because he wanted to officially make me his fiance''.
That''s our story - 12 years in the making, a 911 Dispatcher - a Paramedic/Firefighter brought back together after divorces & children. And it honestly feels soooooooooooo right. He''s the best man I''ve ever known and I''m so very proud he is all mine. LOL - and I used to be of the motto I''d never date a man in the fire service - divorce rates, cheating rates, are extremely high, arrogant, cocky, super hero ego''s without the capes...but there are a few very good ones out there doing it for the right reasons and here I am going marry one of the them! Although the journey to get here was so rough for both of us, it really is our fairy tale ending of happily ever after. It does exist, and dreams do really come true if you never give up on them!
My boyfriend and I actually met 12 years ago. I was 17 - he was 22. I was a senior in high school attending EMT school by night, a Jr. Firefighter and a part time dispatcher working at my local small town Fire Dept. He was hired on as a brand new Paramedic at 22. We obviously had a strong connection, but never had a chance to explore as I was still in high school and a relationship would''ve been inappropriate at that time. Life took us separate ways - he got hired on at a bigger city as Medic/Firefighter and shortly after I left and went to a "rivalry" dept. of his. We had mutual friend in common, so on a rare occasion I would hear something about him. I knew he had gotten married, had 2 kids, and was still working for CJC Fire. We had a random glance at each other around 6 years after the last time we''d seen each other. He was attending a class at my Fire Dept. and I had gone into the auditorium to use the restroom when I saw him standing close by the water fountain talking to someone. Our eyes had locked in disbelief. When I left the auditorium, I threw a glance over my shoulder to be sure it was him, and he was staring back at me. I remember going back into dispatch in shock. Nothing came of that day.
I myself had gone through my series of relationship wrecks through the years. One year ago at this exact time, I got a friend request from him on Facebook. It had been 11 years since we''d talked at that point. I was 6 months out of a divorce, (a 5 year relationship) with a 1 1/2 old son. I''m an independent woman, with a 12 year career in the fire service, bought my own home at 25 and was settling in nicely to the groove of being a happy single mother taking care of business and focusing everything on my son, career & home. I wasn''t looking nor felt I was ready for any serious relationship. I accepted his FB friend request, we began chatting online, catching up. That led to phone calls. I remember the first time I heard his voice on the phone it was as if no time had passed and here was my friend Terry
He was at the end of his 11 year marriage, which I wanted nothing to do with since I had already been down that road. He kept asking me out for lunch, I wasn''t interested. We continued to talk on the phone, but hadn''t seen each other in person, I kept putting it off afraid of what might be between us without his divorce being final. One day he cornered me. He knew where my sister lived and I was babysitting, he was substitute teaching at the school down the street. He said he was coming by to see me, no excuses, no more putting him off (this was months after turning him down for lunch). I literally had less than 5 minutes to throw a bra, decent clothes & some makeup on. He pulled up in this big nice truck and got out. I was nervous, he didn''t appear to be. We chit chatted, or I nervously bantered with him. Then he starts laughing, I look into the yard to see my niece decided to pull her pants down and go pee right there! I was mortified, took her inside, changed her etc. he thought it was hysterical. We said goodbye I went in for a hug and he quickly stole a kiss on the lips! So quick I was like did he seriously just kiss me on the lips?? He asked me to come by his house when I left as he doesn''t live too far from my sister. I debated, seriously, but I did. I stopped by to see his house and when I going to leave he kissed me again, this time I let him, but it was awkward! We''d never kissed, we hadn''t seen each other in 11 years, I was out of a divorce, he was just getting into one. I kept saying neither of us were ready.
So I didn''t see him for awhile after that even though we continued to talk on the phone and FB. We spent so many hours on the phone from March to June, he gently broke down all the walls I had built around my heart, without even knowing it and I showed him that it doesn''t matter what life has thrown at you, you can take it in stride, be a loving, happy & kind person. We had become so close. He told me he''d never stopped thinking about me after all these years, I was always on his mind at some point. All the what if''s, if only''s. All the heartaches we had endured alone in our previous relationships, I think we were brought back together so we''d know how to truly appreciate each other for who we are. Finally June 6 09 I let him take me out to dinner, movie, and we went to see a friends band play. It was a great night. He had thrown out the "Love ya''s" on the phone before, it seemed so natural, but I had always separated "different kinds of love" to him and we both agreed we were saying it as in that was a friendship kind of love. I had a trip planned out of town for a weekend adventure with my American Ghost Hunter group. It was my first trip alone in my life, I was enjoying the freedom and vitality it brought. That weekend late in the early morning of one of our talks - he ended the conversation with "I love you"...I said excuse me? Did you just say "I" love you? Instead of just the "love ya''s"? He said yes. I said when did that happen? He said it happened 11 years ago when he met my spitfire spirit, cussing like a sailor with a beautiful smile on my face with the guys at the fire dept. I let him know I wasn''t at that point with him, nor was he ready for anything, he needed his own time.
He let me keep my denial for a few months and never pushed the issue. But I remember the night I knew I was in love with him too. I was really sick w/ a cold/fever, just got off a 12 hour shift and he wanted to come take care of me and my son. I was too tired to fight his persistancy so I let him. He promptly came over, took my temp, gave me some medicine, the remote and made me lay down on the couch. He put my son to bed, and cleaned my house! I fell asleep, he woke me up and took me to bed. I remember in the middle of the night I awoke to my body shaking & wracking hard w/ fever, he promptly pulled me close, wrapped me in his arms and legs, pulled the covers over us and held me tight. I don''t know how long I was like that but I remember in that moment I realized no matter what the situation was, there was no more denying I was irrevocably in love with him, not matter how hard I had tried to keep him at bay.
I stood by him and went through his struggles. His divorce was finalized a few months after. His ex is major drama baggage and continues to be even though she has a ring on her left finger from a man she''s been with just as long as him and I have been. He has his kids all the time except when he''s on duty. We have blended our family well in providing a stable home environment. We both have the same life goals, we balance each other, and understand the stresses & demands of our careers. I think it''s very difficult for people in the emergency field to have a true understanding unless you are in it. We have so much fun together, it''s just all fallen into place.
He started talking about rings this past November, we knew that is where we wanted our relationship to go. We''d both been in relationships, but alone and we were ready to take on the world and our family together. We went to a few "maul" stores to look at rings - we had completely different tastes. I like vintage/modern he liked solitaires or w side stones, he liked icy white D''s, I like warmer colors G-I, he wanted a bigger center stone, I like smaller. We chose to do a custom ring. We were looking online and we stumbled across a beautiful Asscher halo ring that both caught us by surprise. I am familiar with all cuts, but I never considered an Asscher would be for me! He had never seen one, I''ve only seen them online, but never IRL. He was overly intrigued by this interesting unique step cut as he was in the frame of mind of RB for the most blingage. He asked me to email him a few pics, I gave him names and #''s of people I would trust to do quality custom work. (I''ve been a lurker on this board and another for several years). Last month we chose our stone, cert. .52 I Asscher, we had it sent straight to our vendor to inspect as we don''t know what a "great" stone would be. He checked it out and assured us it was a beautiful stone and got a great deal on it. I know I''m getting an asscher halo w/ a vintage/modern look. I know it''s supposed to be done in the next month. I know he said he didn''t plan on hanging onto it once he received it because he wanted to officially make me his fiance''.
That''s our story - 12 years in the making, a 911 Dispatcher - a Paramedic/Firefighter brought back together after divorces & children. And it honestly feels soooooooooooo right. He''s the best man I''ve ever known and I''m so very proud he is all mine. LOL - and I used to be of the motto I''d never date a man in the fire service - divorce rates, cheating rates, are extremely high, arrogant, cocky, super hero ego''s without the capes...but there are a few very good ones out there doing it for the right reasons and here I am going marry one of the them! Although the journey to get here was so rough for both of us, it really is our fairy tale ending of happily ever after. It does exist, and dreams do really come true if you never give up on them!
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