Post 23 ~ Part 9: God Gave Me More Than I Asked For

First, I want to apologize for this post being a little late. I’ve been sick with a cold.

Now… let’s get back to the surprise. I know you’re probably wondering.

Bill rode with the club out to the Spring Opener, and we drove behind the pack. We had a blast. It felt like old times, except this time we were clean. Music blasting, just enjoying the moment.

When we got to the campsite, our granddaughter Abby was with us.

Before I get to the surprise, I want to take a moment to tell you about two people I haven’t talked about yet. My daughter, Stina, and my granddaughter, Abby.

Stina came into my life as an adult. She is Matt’s sister, and Bill had been raising her since she was a little girl.

I remember the first time I met her. We went to Golden Corral. Bill and I had only been dating a couple of months, and I was nervous. She was his ex-wife’s daughter. She could have hated me just for being the new girlfriend.

But when we met, we clicked instantly. We were so much alike. Loud, fiercely protective of our family, and not the type to let anyone tell us what to do.

Then I met Abby. She was three years old.

In that moment, she was the most beautiful, funny little girl I had ever seen.

Right then, I knew they were meant to be in my life.

Over time, that only became more real. I still remember the first time Stina called me “Mama.” If you’re wondering… yes, I cried.

She had grown up with both of her biological parents still getting loaded, and as far as she was concerned, we were her parents. Abby was our granddaughter.

God had blessed me with a daughter and a granddaughter. You will hear more about them later in my blog!

Now, back to the surprise.

We set up the tents. One for Kimmy and her son. One for Matt and Hunter. And one for Bill, Abby, and me. We had a king-size air mattress, and Abby slept with us.

That Friday night, we went to sleep.

In the middle of the night, I woke up from a dream that Bill was proposing to me. When I opened my eyes, he was awake too. He couldn’t sleep.

The funny part is, in the beginning of our relationship, and even a year before this, we both said we would never get married. We both had bad experiences, and we didn’t want to risk ruining what we had.

Recently, though, we had started talking about it again. We wanted to show our kids that love can work. But we were still on the fence.

That night, lying there, we talked until we fell asleep.

And that’s what we always did.

Most nights, we would talk about everything. The past. The present. Our fears. Our recovery. Life. Everything.

We were never afraid to show each other who we really were.

The next morning, we went on a ride with the club. When we got back, my best friend Lisa showed up. She and her then-husband had originally planned to be elsewhere, so I wasn’t expecting her.

I was off talking to people when Lisa grabbed me and said Bill was looking for me.

I found him.

He smiled… and then got down on one knee.

Our boys were there. Abby was there. Kimmy and Lisa too.

In total biker fashion, he looked at me and said,“So… will you marry me?”

I was in complete shock. I hit my e-cig and said, “Yes, of course!”

He put both the engagement ring and the wedding band on my finger.

Lisa immediately said, “You can’t wear both, not until the wedding.”

Bill looked at her and said, “She can do whatever she wants.”

Everyone laughed.

The truth is, the engagement ring was a little bigger than the wedding band and needed to be sized. So if I wanted to show off the engagement ring, I had to wear the band too.

That weekend was one of the best of my life.

He knew me well enough to make sure all the people who mattered most to me were there.

What I didn’t know was that he had asked my dad for permission before proposing. He even had my sisters, Cari and Cyndi, keep the secret.

He did everything perfectly.

Because he truly saw me.He loved me for who I was.And he never wanted me to be anything other than myself.

The following month, we had an engagement party at Bill’s dad’s house.

And the biggest surprise of all…

My parents showed up from California.

It felt like everything I had fought for was finally right in front of me.

My family.My recovery.My future.

But what came next…

I never saw coming.

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