Big S.

It's very obvious that we live in a world where young parents are not the norm.
It's not normal to be married at 22.
And it's certainly not normal to have 2 kids at 22.
If you do have 2 kids at 22, it's almost unheard of that the parents are actually together.

But we're really not normal.
I really don't give Big S enough credit on here.
He is honestly, the most amazing person I've ever met.
Do you ever look at your husband and think WHO ARE YOU?


The guy I fell in love with and married was not who Big S is today.
I still remember our first "date" out to ice cream.
I put date in quotations because I paid for my own ice cream.
And we made out.
It was awesome.
I always knew his tell for when he was going in for a make out session. He'd offer me a piece of gum, which was insulting and magnificent all at once.
I'd spend my days watching him play guitar hero (on expert, I feel like that's important to mention) and curse like a sailor for no reason.
We'd make out on my parents swing in the backyard, then they'd yell at me.
I'd make him go over his texting limit every month.
It was very romantic.

We both went off to college, Big S in Denver, and I went to Longwood and made the long distance thing work for over a year.

He came back, and not even a year later this happened:

I guess the whole getting-married-and-having-a-baby thing is kind of life altering.

If you've ever known someone since high school and then watched them become a husband and then a father right before your eyes, it's almost breath taking.

We both watched as our friends slowly started to change too.  We watched them graduate.  We watched their pictures turn from red solo cups to pictures of internships and new puppies.  We watched them slowly start to get engaged.  We noticed them slowly stop picking up the phone to check in on us.  We watched them dwindle down to the standard Happy Birthday texts and nothing more.  We watched their standards and personalities change right before our eyes.

But I don't think that Big S has seen the change he's made.

My husband is hilarious.  He's always been hilarious.

That used to be what defined him for me.

I loved him because there was no one who could make me laugh like him.

But now I love him because no one could ever parent like he does.

He adores our kids.

And yes, that's standard procedure for parents.

But he's 23.

He works 50+ hours a week so I can stay home with the kids.

He gets yelled about things that he has no control over.

Then he comes home and gives the kids baths and reads them books and cuddles with them until bedtime.

EVERY NIGHT.

He never complains.

He always puts them to bed with a prayer and a good night kiss.

Then he spends time with me.

He gives me massages without asking.

He gets Rae every night when she wakes up to nurse.

He wakes me up with a kiss every morning.

Do you ever look at your husband and think, WHO ARE YOU?

Because Big S is everything I didn't know I needed.

M