"No one wants a single mom."

These were the words I said to myself and to friends more times than I can count in the years following the birth of my son, Teddy, and the break-off of my relationship with his father. Having an unplanned pregnancy, though it was an incredible blessing in so many ways, left me feeling unlovable and unworthy of a good man. I felt judged and became discouraged that I wouldn’t find a man of the caliber I knew Teddy needed as a father: who wouldn’t see him as a drawback or a complication. I needed someone who wasn’t afraid to become a father to a little boy, and someone who wouldn’t just “tolerate” my son.

In the fall of 2019, I let Christopher Kambach into Teddy’s life for the first time, everything changed. I had known Chris for some time, and I knew he was a good man—I trusted him. Teddy was with me more than he was with his dad, and I wanted Teddy to be around good, manly men, not just women. I knew how important that was for young boys, so I made it a priority. Christopher was one of the men I allowed to babysit Teddy that semester, and he quickly became his favorite. He babysat him more than anyone else that fall and the following spring. I could tell that he really loved Teddy, and Teddy just adored him. The more time Christopher spent with Teddy that year, and the more I talked to him, the more fond I grew of him. By December 2019, I knew that I liked him. But my mantra, “no one wants a single mom,” wouldn’t let me believe he could like me too.

Long story short, I discovered that (as my friends knew all along) my mantra was stupid and wrong, and Christopher asked me on a date when we returned from winter break in January of 2020. He had thought a lot about asking me out because he knew that since I had Teddy, it was different than asking out any other girl. I appreciated that he took things seriously concerning Teddy and me because he didn’t want to hurt either of us. Neither Christopher nor I were messing around—we knew when we went on our first date and started dating officially on February 2nd that this could be "it." Turns out we were right, and we got married on December 28th, Chris’s birthday.

Nearly everyone had an opinion when we got engaged so soon. We were too young, it was too fast, we were still in college, and we "hadn’t been dating for that long".

"Why does it have to be now?"

"Why don’t you just wait?"

"How are you going to finish school?"

"Are you sure?"

It was disheartening at times to get so much pushback from well-intentioned family and friends, but we knew in our hearts that what we were doing was right. We didn’t have it all figured out, but it didn’t matter. We wanted to figure it out together. When you wait your whole life to find something, and it's finally here, you don’t wait to pick it up. You snatch it up, hold it close, and never let go. That's the reason Christopher and I got married after less than one year together: we had finally found what we were looking for.

I’m so thankful for having Teddy, and I’m thankful that he brought Christopher into our lives. I’m thankful for the challenges this year has brought, and the man who has helped me through them. I’m thankful that 10 days ago, I became a married mom that one man has chosen to be with for the rest of his life.