On January 16, 2005, I was at The Madison with Shannon and you walked in and sat down next to her after watching the Eagles and Vikings game with all your buddies. Since we had already been there all day drinking, I remember looking at Shannon and telling her how cute you were, completely oblivious to the fact that you could hear every word that I was saying. You and I started talking, and without even knowing you, I let you take me home.
On January 21, 2005, we had our first date at The Joseph Ambler Inn. We went back to my house for you to meet my parents and you asked to use the bathroom. Not knowing at that time how forgetful you were with putting your zipper up, you walked out to shake my Dad’s hand for the first time. Of course, still with the zipper down. I remember mentioning to you as we left to go meet your parents at The Madison, and you asked me, “Why on earth didn’t you say anything in the house?” I laughed and said, “Oh yeah, that would’ve looked real good, me saying that in front of my parents!”
That night when I got home, I sat down on my sister’s bed, with her and my Mom, and told them that I’d met the guy I knew I was going to marry.
As the weeks went on, you prepared me for the fact that you would be leaving for deployment to Iraq. We went to I-Hop for breakfast one morning and had a sincere talk. You said to me, “I know we haven’t been dating very long, but with me going overseas, I need to know whether you’re willing to make this commitment. If not, we need to end things now.” Without any hesitation, I was ready to be by your side 110 percent of the time throughout this deployment and do whatever I could to support you.
When I sat down with my parents to tell them about the deployment, I remember my dad saying, “Are you sure you can do this? This is a really big commitment. I said, “I am ready and willing to be there every step of the way.” Without questioning my decision, my parents said that they would support me and be there every step of the way as well.
As my dad stood by my side while Brad boarded that bus, he held me as I cried. The respect and bond that my dad had for you started at that very moment.
I wrote to you every day and waited by that phone. My boss knew that if that phone rang I was leaving to go talk to you, whether or not I had customers with me. I went through each and every day thinking about you, 24/7. I was afraid to watch the news, fearing I’d hear the worst. I spent every moment I could with your parents. Your mom and I would sit at The Madison and play military songs on the juke box and just cry thinking about you. I had amazing support, and just like now Brad, I was in good hands and taken care of, just like you would want.
On March 24, 2006, you were set to come home. From the night before until the minute you came home, we went through a million changes of plans with arrival times. Finally, around 9-o-clock, you walked off that bus into my arms. It was one of the best moments of my life. I finally got to hold you after nine long months. I tried to support you the best I could through this transition back to civilian life.
A year past and on March 24, 2007, we took a trip to Atlantic City with your parents. You were acting real funny that night. I couldn’t really understand what was going on. We got back to the room and you sat next to me on the bed. You were never really known for your romantic ways which is one of the reasons I loved you so much because you let me know each and every day that you loved me with your actions without feeling the need to go over to the top. While sitting next to me on the bed, you pulled a ring out of your pocket, placed the box on my knee and said, “So, wanna marry me?”
Of course, through all the tears and laughter, I looked at you and said, “Of course!”
We shared the moment together for a while and then I had to call everyone I knew. From the moment I met you, I knew that if we got married, I wanted to honor your dream of having a military wedding. As we planned I wanted to make that aspect for you as special as possible.
When we got home, we had the conversation of what you wanted to pursue as a career, now that you would be discharging from the Marines. You mentioned wanting to be a police officer and I could tell that this was a dream of yours. But you were never really one to be proactive with paperwork or contacting people, so I wanted to make your dream come true. I contacted Montgomery County Police Department, took care of all your paperwork, delivered it for you and hoped for the best. You went through the Academy, graduated at the top of your class and had many opportunities for jobs. I couldn’t have been more proud of you. I’ll never forget the day you came home after getting the phone call from Plymouth for a job interview. You were so excited and so nervous. You came home from your interview and I knew this was the department that you wanted to spend your career. Every interview offer that you got from that point on you ignored or declined because you didn’t want to be anywhere else other than Plymouth.
I knew when you got the job that they had no idea how lucky they were to have you. They would soon find out that you would do everything in your power to prove to them that you were a dedicated officer that truly valued your community and your job and they would never regret their decision.
Your work ethic was admirable. There were days that I would try to convince you to take the day off and spend a day with me. “No, I need to go to work. I need to be there to get my perfect attendance check and I need to be there for my guys. I can’t screw anyone over.” As much as I wanted to spend time with you, I admired you for being so dedicated to your job and to your brothers. You always had everyone’s best interest at heart.
You always knew how to put a smile on my face. You could be the most annoying human being at times, but you knew the perfect time, well the majority of times, to throw a joke in there or an inappropriate comment or action that would make me smack you and laugh.
I’ll never forget the time when we were living in our town home and I came home from work and asked if you knew that Rocco Caparella was in the hospital with colic. You looked at me with a straight face and asked, “Why on earth would they take him to the hospital because of a part in his hair?” Through the tears of laughter I looked at you and said, “Hon, you’re thinking of cowlick, not colic.”
A few months later, I wanted you to sit down with me as we picked out things for Lacy’s baby shower. While going through the list we came across a nose aspirator. And again, with a straight face, you looked at me and said, “We don’t’ need one. We have one in the drawer.” Confused, I looked at you blankly as you went into the kitchen and pulled out the turkey baster.”
Your cluelessness with children and accessories was worrisome at first, but I knew as naive as you were, when it came to kids, when it came time to have our own, you would be the most amazing father.
On June 21, 2008, we shared the most important day of our lives. It was just as important as I’d imagined from the time I was a little girl. Not because of the dress or the guests, but because I was making a commitment to the most perfect man – the man of my dreams – to be by your side and share in every good time and bad for the rest of our lives.
I couldn’t wait to start a family with you because I knew that even though you were worried about the kind of father you were going to be, there was never a doubt in my mind that you would be the best dad you could be because of the great role model you had to show you what a great father truly was.
I wanted to give you children more than anything. When we found out we were having Cadence, our world changed. We went from a young, married couple that enjoyed hanging out, carefree, to responsible adults that wanted to make a perfect life for our children. We were willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. We were content with just sitting at home, relaxing, watching our favorite shows.
On April 13, 2012, we welcomed the most amazing baby girl into the world. You were so worried you wouldn’t know what to do, but you ran around that hospital like a kid at Christmas, so excited to share the news and pictures of your new baby girl. There have only been a handful of times in our eight years together that I have seen you cry, and this was one of those times.
I knew that little girl had you wrapped around her finger from the moment you laid eyes on her. She is and will forever be, Daddy’s Little Girl. I will forever be reminded of you each time I look into her eyes, as our family sits her and jokes that our child looks nothing like me – she’s the spitting image of you. I look forward to the birth of our second child in March to see what characteristics of you shine through his or her little personality.
You were and always will be an amazing provider and the rock of our household. You were always willing to do whatever it took to make sure your family was taken care of, especially lately with me being pregnant again. You would come off a 12-hour day, make dinner, clean up, take care of the baby, never once complaining. You’ve given me my dream home surrounded with the most amazing neighbors and friends. When we picked out our dream home we knew that this was our home forever as we joked that we would have to be buried in the backyard.
I promise you that our forever home will remain our forever home and our children will be raised in it just as you would have wanted. I know you’re looking down on us and seeing the overwhelming amount of support that we have. Each and every one of your police brothers knows the type of person you were and know that you would be taking care of their families just as they are taking care of yours.
Please know I’m in good hands and I will make you proud each and every day of my life. I don’t have friends anymore; I have an extremely large extended family. I know you would be proud of your brother s for all they have been doing for you and for us right now. I know you hated being the center of attention and you’re looking down at me, embarrassed that all this focus is on you, but I don’t care. You deserve every ounce of the love and support that you are getting.
You impacted more people than you’ll ever know. I couldn’t be more proud and honored to call you my husband. Your children will forever know the type of man you were. They will always know who their daddy is and how amazing you were as a husband, father, friend, son, brother, Marine and police officer.
You are one of the most selfless, loving, caring, heroic persons. And I’m sure the list could go on and on.
I can’t’ even begin to put into words how much I appreciate you and how much you’ve accomplished not only as a husband but my best friend and the many other roles you play. I love you more than I can tell you, but I will continue to remind you every day that you are here and always will be my one and only.
You’re a true hero, and I stand here today, honored, to have had the past eight years with you. And I, and we all know, that your legacy will carry on through your children.
I love you Brad.
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