Chapter 3: The Melting of My Heart

September 2009

I had never had to meet anyones son before.  I had never dated anyone who had the title of “Dad”.  Who was I going to be to this little person?  Needless to say, I was terrified.  Would he like me?  Would he want to be my friend?  What is this little person going to be to me?

Then there he was, cuddled up in his daddys’ arm.  He was just a few weeks shy of his second birthday.  I could tell he was as nervous as I was, even though I was doing a poor job of hiding it.  As he looked up from the crook of his fathers’ neck, we locked eyes.  I had seen those eyes before.  They were the same gorgeous blue eyes that I had been staring into for the last few weeks.  In that moment, it was love at first sight.  For me anyway.  I just had to win him over.  I had some toys just for us.  I picked a ball and we sat down on the kitchen floor.  I was trying to be as patient as I possibly could while rolling the ball.  Terry definitely wasn’t interested in playing with me as he snuggled back into the comfort of his daddys’ arms.  I continued to play ball with myself, until, he reached out his little arms and pushed the ball back.  He smiled the brightest, biggest smile that I had ever seen.  That was it.  That was all it took.  Patience, and I had a new friend for life.

For the next few weeks, we spent a lot of time together.  By October, I was his “Mimi” because for the life of him he couldn’t seem to get out “Mindy”.  He was my best friend and I told him everything.  We watched movies and painted.  We played with legos until way past bedtime.  This boy was the one who taught me that stepping on a lego is worse than stepping on a knife and a bunch of bees.  Believe me, I’ve done both.

Neither of us knew that one morning in October our lives would be entwined forever.  Josh and I had only been together a few short months so the thought of marriage was the farthest thing from my mind.  He had asked me a few times in conversation and I would just laugh it off.  It’s too soon, right?  That’s insane.  I didn’t know what he was thinking!  Then one morning, I heard little feet tiptoeing into my room.  I pretended to be asleep as he poked me.  “Mimi!” Poke.  “MIMI!!!” Poke. Poke.  I opened my eyes to a tiny box and a smile even brighter than the first time we met.  “Will You Marry Daddy?”  I sat straight up!  Terry giggled and Josh said “I’m not gonna ask you again, woman.  I didn’t think you’d say no to him.”  He was right!  There was absolutely no way I could say no.  There was nothing I wanted more than to have Josh as my husband and to be a stepmother to Terry.

Wait?…A stepMOTHER!  Can I be someones mother?  I’m only 22.  Am I ready for this package?  Wait. Hang on.  Becoming a stepmother and a family only meant one thing.  Meeting the MOTHER.  I think I’ll just go hide under a rock now…