Married to a Firefighter

Kenny and I have been together for about 5 1/2 years and married for about a year and a half. When we first started dating he was working at Southern States and I was at the Board of Education. Our work and college lives sucked and we only saw each other on Saturdays...which I would count down to every week. Then as we became attached we began trying to see each other for dinner in the middle of the week then our Saturday night date. Soon it was seeing each other every chance we got or were on the phone with each other (anyone who knows Kenny would be shocked to know the number of hours we spent on the phone but it was a lot).

October 2007, Kenny decided that he was ready to get married even though I had spent the past year begging him to propose so I could start planning the wedding, I knew everything I wanted, I just needed the question and the ring! So he absolutely caught me off guard when he decided to ask me on our 3rd year anniversary. I was in total shock and so excited. He was still at Southern States and I was working at the Visitors Center in Martinsburg. As we were planning to be married, he had began a supervisor program within the organization of Southern States and the states "Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia" were heard more and more because he could have been moved to any store where they wanted him to be at. So we had that going on plus planning. Then in 2008 everything changed. He left Southern States and worked at another farming place in Berryville and started talking about going back to school to get his paramedic. Well all this caught me off guard, I knew he has started college in that program but thought that was long gone. But he was seriously talking about it and looked into the program at Blue Ridge CTC.

June 2008, Martinsburg Fire Fighters placed an ad that they were hiring for EMT/Firefighters, Kenny applied. He figured he'd give it a shot and see what happened. He was doing the paramedic program regardless and figured he'd work somewhere eventually in that field. Lo and behold, they hired him.

August 2008, our routine changed. He begin working at the Fire Department, I couldnt have been more proud but his schedule was different and that took a lot to get used to. He works a set schedule of 24 hour shifts. At first it was challenging because I would have something planned and it would be on a day he worked and it wasnt like he was getting off at 5pm to come home and go to dinner. This was a whole new ball game. So we got married in November, I was at the Coast Guard, he was a firefighter.

We have been doing this for over a year now and I can not express how proud I am of him. He works hard and almost finished school to become a paramedic. The schedule is still hard but one of these days I may get used to it. Who knows. But I know he is only a text or phone call away. I think we communicate more than we ever have and try to keep each other up to date with what we are doing and what has happened especially since we have Ava. He has been a wonderful husband and I couldnt ask for a better daddy for Ava, she is absolutely in love with him.

I cant believe we have been in each others lives for over 5 years. We have changed so much since that fall when we began dating but we have helped each other grow into the person we have become. I am proud to be able to tell people that my husband helps others for a living. Martinsburg isnt a large city and doesnt have the most serious calls all the time but when it comes down to it there are those out there that need him to be there and to be on that call and hes there. He is happy in that position and I support him in that position even though I get aggravated sometimes because of the schedule and because of his time away from home, its just because I love spending time with him and love talking to him and watching him with Ava.