Zachary and I met at this weird in between time in both of our lives. I was hurting and felt that my life had been turned upside down and he was trying to find himself and where he fit in after college and starting a new job. Leah and I had made plans to go bowling, I haven’t the slightest clue, and probably she doesn’t either, the truth is we had never gone bowling together before that nor since but the why is irrelevant, I didn’t want to be home and she wasn’t going to let me be somewhere I did not want to be. She loves me fiercely, she did then, and she still does, so when she asked at the last minute if she could invite a new teacher who had just started and did not know anyone locally, I said OK even though a “no” sat on the tip of my tongue. She said he was cool and she said he was happy (she also said other things, but those things aren’t important now) and she was right, he was cool, he was happy, and he was fun, and I was barely breathing, every breath hurt. Zachary was the real happy, the kind that felt like sunshine and smelled like fresh cut grass and tasted like rain and sounded like a belly laugh. He was everything that I was not. He was alive and I was struggling to take a breath and he was teaching me every moment that we were together how to laugh and breathe and be. Zachary was breathing life back into my life and he was helping me find me. Zachary changed my life, he came in like a tornado and turned everything upside down and he still does, with me, with the littles, with our life. Within days he was one of my best friends and within months we were together and within a year I was head over heels in love with him. Zachary turned everything upside down and it has never been the same.

Bowling is not where I go to meet new people. But bowling is how I met Natasha. I was a non seasoned teacher changing schools. It was a new environment with new staff and I was just starting to fit it. Leah, an art teacher at the time and still sticking with it (bless her soul), had come to know me well as we travelled to the same schools. One night she had invited me to go bowling. I am not even sure why I said yes because I was already home a few towns over by the time she asked, but I am glad I said yes. I arrived to Leah’s house and texted her “I’m here” but was welcomed by Natasha. Very shy and timid she seemed but she seemed kind and warm hearted. We started bowling and it was evident that bowling was not her forte but she didn’t care. She was “wooing” even if she only knocked down one pin. It had me questioning how she was enjoying herself. And even today, has me jealous that she has this ability. These personality traits continued to draw me closer and closer to her. She was/ is able to show love, compassion and generosity in ways that I couldn’t. Her smile was contagious and had me coming back to see it more. I was in a place where I wasn’t sure if I was ready for a relationship but I also did not want to let go of her. With her already having children, some would call this baggage but I love our littles. They have been a real treat. They keep me on my toes, and make me smile and laugh with some of the most wittiest, sometimes kookiest, things I have ever heard. If I had a choice to have a relationship with just her or her and the littles, I would still choose this family. To this day she continues to make me grow, show me different ways to enjoy life and to show love. To this day, she is my best friend and the person I want to spend most of time with. She has been an amazing partner in crime and I look forward to continue learning from her.