Where to Begin? It all started 2 ½ years ago during a point in our lives where we were at our lowest. A time when darkness and unfair life events brought on lots of hurt and grief. Two people in two different life situations miles apart came across each other on the popular social media app, Facebook. My name is Melissa DuCharme (from Eastman) and my now Fiancé’s name is Justin Etheridge (originally from Boscobel). After losing my Husband of 14 years and the Father of our 3 children to Colon Cancer at the age of 37, my life was spiraling. I didn’t know how to grieve. I didn’t know what the future held for the kids and I. I was depressed. I was in a fog where I wasn’t thinking straight. I was out partying all the time, leaving my kids at home to grieve on their own and ultimately being very selfish which was not who I truly was. I was definitely not myself. After months of living like this, not being the Mom I knew I had been and could be, being extremely unhappy, I came across “People You May Know" on Facebook with a picture of a man that caught my eye. This guy was everything. Handsome. He had a nice tan and my favorite feature… A Mullet. I decided well, what have I got to lose? He is mutual friends with my Best Friend (Brianna), so why not send him a message and see where it goes? After making small talk and getting to know each other a bit after hours of texting back and forth we decided to meet up the next day in the town he was living in at the time. I thought to myself, a die hard back woods Wisconsin boy that wants to meet up with me during a Packer game he would be watching has to be worth it. It definitely was.

Justin who also had been in a dark place at the time of his life after multiple unfaithful partners was going down a rabbit hole of bad choices and excessive drinking. He spent every night after work in the bar, had a bad attitude and felt like the whole world was against him. Little did he know, his future Family was about to enter his world.

September 5th of that year is what we call our “ Fate Date.” Like they say, “ When you know, you know” and we just knew that this was the day our lives were changing for the better. We just clicked. There was that instant lust that soon turned into Love where nothing else in the world mattered. That Love that makes all our worries disappear and our pasts, just a bump in the road to something more peaceful, something worth waiting for through all the struggles. He brought the best out in me and I in him. The kids fell in love with him and he with the kids. Although no one could ever replace their Father, Justin was and is a Blessing in Disguise. He is the best Bonus Dad the kids could ask for. The Love between the kids and Justin is more then I could have ever hoped for. They look up to him, are grateful for him, and feel safe with him. He is fun, funny, a protector, provider, teacher, the Jack of all Trades. We share special times together as a family making memories we will cherish forever. While their Dad is looking down on them and proud of them, Justin is there to share the kids finest moments, to be that male role model that was taken too soon from them. We have all together brought happiness, strength, and Comfort to each other and after a well thought out plan between the kids and Justin, he proposed. With the kids by his side and his sister behind the camera hiding in the middle of the woods by herself awaiting our arrival, they took me out to his home away from home, his hunting spot. We were going “shed hunting.” After my competitive self suggesting we make it a game of who can find the first shed, I was led to the ultimate prize. An antler with the words “ Will You Marry Me “ was sitting off to my right by a pile of leaves and fake red rose pedals. I turned around to Justin down on one knee, the kids with their phones out taking pictures and his sister hiding off in the distance with the video camera capturing the whole thing. Of Course I said “ Yes”

And after 3 years of building from the ground up, we will officially become Family on October 5, 2024 and we count our Blessings everyday.