The Best Day of My Life -- (long post!)

Let me start by saying, that I just joined a blogging challenge (They were already 11 days into it, so for the next ten days, I am going to be doing two a day to catch up.  This is the one for today. I will follow it up with day one a little later.) where they give a topic each day, and we each write about it.  

The day 11 topic,  was The best day of my life.  This is a toss up, because in my 27 years, I have had a great many wonderful days.  the toss up is between my wedding day, and the birth of my daughter.  I am hoping that it isn't against any rules, but, bouncing around a little, I have seen that birth of a child.  This is still my biggest milestone, so I am going to write a little about both, because they are absolutely intertwined.

First, I will write about my wedding day.  Let me start, by writing about our history a little bit.  My husband and I went to grade school together, so we have known each other forever.  We met when I moved to his home town in the fifth grade.  We were ten.  We were friends throughout that time.  We finally went to our senior prom together, as friends, of course.  But over the course of that night, and the weeks to follow, chemistry grew between us. I really think that I fell in love with him on prom night, even though that couldn't have been further from my intention.  As they say, I think I had "friend zoned" him a long time prior.  But if you remember your senior prom (and try to remember it as a 17 or 18 year old girl, mind you), you will remember that it was a magical day.  Anyway, we started "officially" dating the weekend after graduation.  It wasn't long after that, when we were inseparable.

Fast Forward about six months, and my boyfriend, at the time, the boy, that I was certain, already, that I was going to marry, made a life changing decision (with my support.. eventually..) that he was going to join the Army.  I was in college at the time, and had high hopes of being a professional musician, so I wasn't willing to give up my education (and we had to go through his training anyway), so we ended up separated (physically) for over two years.  We made the decision that we were going to maintain our relationship through our training, and until I was in a position to move to be with him.

Two years later, I decided to try to transfer schools, this decision was solidified on Christmas Eve, when my husband, after inviting both of our families over for Christmas Eve dinner, got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.  Of course, a few days later he had to hop on a plane again, leaving me here, but I knew we were going to be together really soon.

August of the following year, he came to our hometown, and we were had our wedding day.  We were celebrating, not only the fact that we were becoming husband and wife (because, really, how awesome is that?!) but we were beginning a life, together.. I mean, really, physically, actually together.  Same state, same city, same HOME!

Now, I would love to tell you, that our day went down without a hitch, but, things happen, and we had our issues.  Such as our band (I went to music school, mind you, so I thought of all things, this was DEFINITELY covered), who cancelled on us the night before. (like, at 9pm the night before) so we were going and grabbing up music, and calling our photographer (who I worked with at the time) if she'd double as a DJ for us..  Not as many people showed up as we had hoped.  But looking back, I just remember the magic and love of that day.  Nervousness was there, we were only 20, after all, and this is definitely the biggest life change I think you can make at that age.  But, his military uniform, our dresses, the family and friends. It was a magical day.  I still look so fondly at pictures, and remember that day with such wonderful memories.  I truly, and honestly love my husband just as much, maybe even more, today, than I did then, (not that I ever would have thought it was possible at the time.

If you fast forward about three years, we endured the saddest day of my life, and that is a day, when I had a miscarriage. I was so excited to be pregnant with our first, very planned, extremely wanted, child.  I felt like my dreams were crashing down around me.

Two months later, I found out I was pregnant again.  I was scared, but nine months later, after a mostly successful pregnancy, I had the most beautiful night of my life, and that was the night (I say night, because it was after enduring 28 hours of labor and a C-section, and it was evening time when she finally decided to grace us with her presence.).  I tell you, hearing that first cry, was the most relieving sound ever.  It suddenly says "after all of that, look, I am here and I am healthy".  Holding my daughter, watching my husband hold her, and fall in love with her.  See all of our friends and family come to meet her and watch each one of them fall in love with the miracle that my husband and I had just brought into the world, was an amazing experience.  Transforming into a mother, while difficult, is one of the best things that I have ever been blessed to do.