Love and Family, Finally!

I have been through so many different experiences in my life that I can only feel blessed, and so many good things have happened during my time on earth.  I am not saying that I have not had sorrow in my life, or bad things happen.  Those things tend to find everyone in their lives from time to time.  However, I have learned so much from the mistakes in my life, and have found myself in a better place now because of it.
For example, my husband that I cherish, the father my daughter adores, the son-in-law that my mother loves would never have met me if I hadn't been introduced by his sister-in-law, one of my friends.  Thank you Tish!  I was at a point where I had not had a positive experience with men, and I was just tired of trying to find someone who fit my ideals.  In essence, I had given up.  When Tish told me about her husband's "adopted" brother, fresh in from Florida, I wasn't enthusiastic.  I figured he would be a jerk like every guy I seemed to be attracted to.  But I firmly believe in that you should give people at least one chance.  So we exchanged phone numbers and talked to each other a few times before we agreed to meet.  At this time, I was running every day after work, and had a few ideas on what I might meet.  Maybe I would find someone who would enjoy running with me, and we would share all kinds of interests and hobbies.  Instead, as I talked to my future husband I realized that was not going to happen.  A victim of strenuous labor and a thrice broken leg, and damaged back, my husband was not going to do any running with me.  He was an avid and enthusiastic fisherman, and he loved to drink beer with "the guys".  Heck, I'm not against drinking, used to do a lot of it myself, but the point was that he was not the image I had created in my head as the perfect guy for me.  Yet as we walked and talked, I became cautiously excited.  The man in my dreams was there; as we talked we laughed and I enjoyed sharing so much with him and I couldn't wait to see him again. 
Gary has put up with so much with me.  I'm not the easiest woman to deal with, and I have a temper at times.  I can be emotional, especially when watching chick flicks, and am stubborn to a fault.  He has pointed out that there are very few times that I don't do what I want, and of course we differ on a few things on raising our daughter.  But there are the important things I value above all.
Gary loves me unconditionally, and here I am blessed  beyond what I deserve.  He adopted Snowden--she is all his now, and she loves the fact that she has a daddy who loves and takes time to be with her.  He has helped all of us so much, especially when my father passed away.  My mother was destroyed, and we wanted to help her as much as possible. Gary made that happen, by taking care of so many things, fixing the house, and building her a fish pond waterfall feature that she had wanted for so many years.  When I was diagnosed with Renal Failure, and it was a grim time at that, he was supportive of me and never left me, unless I kicked him out of the room.  He was also as good as Hitler when it came to my new diet!  If I was weak, he was my voice of  reason, and he has helped me with all the surgeries and things that I go through. 
The biggest thing about my true love--he lets me know he loves me.  I can hug him, and tell him I love him, and he does the same for me.  He doesn't shrug me off or ignore me.  He seems to know that I have to have that contact, especially when I'm not sure how much time I have left to me.  I want to enjoy every bit of time I have with those I love, and I know that God has blessed me with love.