Brittany and I first met through a virtual work conference back in December of 2020. I was informed that my clinic was going to be hiring a new speech-language pathologist (SLP) that would be starting in the new year, so the purpose of that meeting was for our clinical team to get to know a little bit about her and for her to get to know a little bit about us as well. I sent Brittany a follow-up email just letting her know that we were all excited to have her come on board and that it was going to be really cool to have another SLP in the same building.

When Brittany first started, she did a lot of observing but also participating in my therapy sessions while she continued to build up a caseload of her own. That was the first time I got to see how incredible she was with kids, being as playful yet productive as possible in order to help them achieve their goals. I still tell her to this day that I’m not quite sure how she manages to help these kiddos succeed and develop into their best versions of themselves, all while being as fun and creative as you can imagine. It is truly amazing, and anyone who knows her or sees her at work can vouch for that.

The more we worked alongside one another, the more we got to know each other and got to learn a little bit more about each of our personalities, our experiences and everything that made us into what we are today. Those of you that know Brittany already know that she has been through some trials and tribulations that have made her into the amazing woman that she is today. Those of you that know me, know that I have had my fair share of trials and tribulations as well. She wasn’t there with me through mine, and I wasn’t there with her through hers – but we both were blessed with the end results of all of that. We started to fall for the product of what each of us had gone through, what we’ve accomplished, what we fell short of – and most importantly the loved ones that have been beside us every step of the way.

Brittany had just gotten out of a serious, long-term relationship – so our relationship didn’t just evolve at the snap of a finger. It was a lot of persistence (on my end haha), but it was a type persistence that was, in many ways – enjoyable, hopeful and rewarding. I was finally fighting for something [and someone] by choice; and it was by my choice. That was different than a majority of the fights that I’ve been accustomed to the past 15+ years, ones that weren’t necessarily by my choice but by His. So, you can imagine that I was going to do everything in my power to win this one.

Time passed by, and the inevitable began to take place as the both of us became more and more attracted to one another. We both found something and someone that neither of us had found before that time, a love that we had hoped for but one that didn’t always seem possible. Believe me when I say that it has been everything and more than what we had imagined it would be.