He knew the way to my heart was at the end of a leash.

My husband and I will have been together for almost 18 years. I met him at my nephew's MX race in 2005. He had just gotten back home from Florida after a serious accident resulted in him almost losing a hand. He had just graduated from MMI, a technical school for motorcycle mechanics. His circle ran pretty close to my nephew’s and he offered to help and be his mechanic during the races. I went to cheer my nephew on.

At the end of August, he adopted Lexi and started bringing her to the races. During one of the races my nephew did particularly well and in an act of pure excitement Jeff ran to the pits to congratulate him, leaving poor Lexi tied to the fence. An act I wouldn’t soon let him forget.

Over the next few months, he pursued me. Just getting out of a 2-year relationship myself I wasn’t ready for a commitment. But our encounters grew more and more frequent even well after the racing season ended. By the end of September, I was smitten, sharing our first kiss outside of his parent's house. In October walking together in downtown Greenfield, I agreed to be exclusive. Fast forward to April of 2006 He asked me to marry him at a stop light, yes a temporary stop light at that. I wouldn’t change a thing.

In 2006 my dog Patches got hurt beyond repair for her age, requiring a second knee surgery after just healing from the first was simply out of the question for a 12-year-old dog. I was too young and it was too hard for me to watch her fade away, so he volunteered to sit with her as she closed her eyes for the last time so she wasn’t alone. He carried her out of the office and helped me lay her to rest with my childhood dog Sam under the pine tree at my parent's house. I still have regrets to this day that I wasn’t strong enough to be there for her but I will forever be thankful He was.

We had a long engagement, finally tying the knot in October 2007, buying a house in 2008, and having our son in 2010. Shortly after our son was born Jeff became a career firefighter. We spent our 20s navigating a lot of obstacles. His new firefighter career included.

We have an ongoing joke that I can have as many dogs as he has motorcycles. The funny thing is I’m really never sure exactly how many he has at a given time. In 2013 we adopted Ranger. A St. Benard/German Shepherd/husky mix. Out of 15 puppies we picked out the only one that had 1 blue eye and 1 brown eye. We lovingly call him our Friday dog. Because he was built on a Friday with spare parts. He became my heart dog. In February 2020 we invited Clay into our family and then the world turned upside down. I will share more about the dogs later.

After 15 years of marriage to say it’s been a stroll through the park would be a lie. Like most relationships, we’ve had ups and downs. But some things had never changed and they got us through some of the hardest times. We love each other and plan on growing old together.

If I could give 1 piece of advice to a young fire wife it would be to never stop loving your man, even on the days they struggle to love themselves.