As I flip through photo albums and watch videos, I see the love in his eyes when he looked at me. We weren’t the perfect couple, but we were perfect for each other. I calmed him, he calmed me. He made me smile in a way that I’ve never smiled before. He made me laugh. That hard laugh that makes your stomach hurt and tears run out of your eyes. He wanted to show me the world. He tried his best to do that for me.

This grumpy, mean old man was all smiles and happiness with me. I know he loved me. I hope he left here knowing how much I loved him. I think he does, because I can recall more than one bar fight, bottle cracking, Popeyes Chicken incident where I was about to go to war “for my man” 😂

My poor Darryl. I wonder if he saw his hot headedness in me. I still run home to tell him about what’s happened in my world. He always listened. I am sure he thought I was slightly crazy, but he always told me nicely when he thought I was wrong. He never did anything nicely. My baby was a mess. A a-hole, but to me he was a sweetheart. He let me baby him, even though he hated it.

As a father, my goodness. He was the best.

I am glad we found each other. He LOVED ME. I look around and know that what we had was special. I miss him. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. I know he loved me. I hold that so close to my heart. I can’t wait to see him again 💜