Welcome home

I cried in the car this morning. Do you ever just hear a song, and you can totally relate to it and it feels like it was written for you and what you are going through in life right at that moment. Totally me today. Today is an emotional day, as I will be seeing my good friend for the first time in 3 years. He is getting out of prison. I will not divulge into the details, because it is not my story to tell. I am so anxious and excited to see him. He is a huge part in my life. He is my husbands best friend and has been his friend all throughout his childhood and teen years. They lost touch after high school, but still remained friends but their lives took them in different directions. Austin became a dad, and Shawn was a normal teenager with the freedom to do whatever he wanted. I still remember Shawn and I laying in the water relaxing on "Buffalo Beach" while Austin was on the shore with some of our other friends and I asked him, "Do you think Austin would go out with me?" and he said, "I don't know why he wouldn't". He then when back and told Austin I was interested and the rest is history. Austin and I always had a connection with each other and he always flirted with me, but I always turned him down because he was younger and my friends little brother and I didn't want it to ruin our friendship, so when he knew I was interested in pursuing a relationship, everything just kind of fell into place. During those first few months together all of us did everything together, we have so many great memories and a ton of things to laugh about. We were just kids then. We were invincible and young, wild and free. We did stupid things that I wouldn't want to admit to my parents or children to this day. Shawn was there the day Gavin was born, he was there for Gavin's 1st birthday, he was there as a groomsman the day we were married, he was there for everything. Shawn and his family are our family. With him being gone, it was a huge void on our lives, especially on Austins. Gavin doesn't really remember Shawn and it kills me because he is just such an important person in our lives and he loves Gavin and was there for everything with Gavin. I wrote to Shawn as often as I could and I kept him in the loop with what was going on in our lives. I tried to always remember to write to him once a month, on holidays and his birthday. I made sure to always tell him he was loved and missed. We had our daughter why he was away, she's almost 2 now. I am excited for him to meet her. I am excited to see him and give him a hug. Shawn had a daughter, her name is Ali :-) a couple months before he went away. She has visited him many times and knows who her daddy is, but never on the outside. Today his life will change, today her life will change. It brings me to tears to know he will finally get to experience the true feeling of being a father and that Ali will finally get to have her daddy home. His mom will have her son home, his sisters will have their brother home. I am so happy for their family. I pray this transition goes smoothly for him, I pray that he keeps love, family and good friends around him at all times. I pray he stays on a straight path. I am nervous, happy, anxious, and excited to see him today. To see my husband hug his best friend for the first time in 3 years will probably be the end for me, and the tears will flow. I'm happy to have my friend back safe and sound at home and with his family where he belongs. Welcome home Shawn!