Robert’s Perspective:
I was going to be a father and just the idea was crazy to think about. We took the next couple of weeks to figure everything out, from finances to living situations we covered it all. Couples work through these tough subjects over the course of a few of years, Mireille and I weren’t afforded this luxury. Working through it all you realize how differently people live. I come from a fiscally conservative background and Mireille was more…YOLO. 
Mireille told me when she was living NYC a few years prior she sold her car and bought a purse. Ehh…we all have our thing I guess but my hunch was this could be the last one of those we buy for a while. There was so much to sift through, it was almost surreal to think we needed to pull together both our lives in such a short period of time. Piece by piece we began to work through everything and as the weeks came and went I began to realize she was just as committed as I in this partnership of ours.
Mireille and I are different in many ways, but one thing we’ve said from the first time we dated was how similar our core values were to one another. Its odd when you stumble upon someone who is so similar to you, yet so completely different all at the same time. Mireille can make you want to be a better person without ever making you feel bad for your shortcomings (more than a few here). All I have to do is look her in eyes and see the type of person I wanted to become for her. Love is patient, love is kind and this is the kind of love I needed. This is what its like to realize the meaning of the phrase “your better half”. Mireille was and still is my better half. Its hard to describe what this realization felt like but seemed to be a culmination of a lot of things that made it very apparent: the way she walked, looked at me, embraced my idiosyncrasies with out guilt. In the end, was our story “traditional”?, doubtful but in the end it was ours, a new tradition of unwavering commitment to figure this thing called life out, together. Thats what makes it perfect.
So, the motorcycles were sold one at a time and oddly enough I didn’t fight it, it was time to move on. The idea of driving up the road at 160 MPH above average speed limits was a thing of the past. When the last one went there was a brief moment there when I realized life was no longer just about myself. There is so much symbolism when you think about the philosophy and lifestyle of those who ride motorcycles. Its often a symbol of freedom and independence. This chapter was closed and I would later realize this would be the easiest life change I’ve had to work through since that day.
Mireille and I talked about getting married. Should we wait until after Jackson was born or if we should pull the trigger before he was born. We talked long and hard about it and in the end, we concluded our feelings for each other were the same regardless of whether Mireille was pregnant or not, it just fast tracked everything by about a year. The night I asked Mireille to marry me, I took her back to the very first place she told me she loved me. To this day, I have no clue what the words were that came out of my mouth that evening. I just kind of go blank when I think about it. Seriously, I haven’t a clue but my guess is it came together all right.
Mireille and I were married on November 16th 2013 in her hometown Roswell Ga at The Mill. From the first time I saw her to the moment we said I do, was 10 months and 8 days. In many ways we thought we knew each other reasonably well but looking back we just laugh at how little we really did know. 
We crammed about 10 years into the first chapter of our life together and couldn’t have been happier to start our journey together as Mr. and Mrs. Beckwith. I’ll never forget driving away on our wedding night thinking how incredibly lucky I was to have met this woman. What I would later realize was just how good a woman she really came to be.
Mireille’s perspective:
I never mean to run on about details probably trivial to a reader. But I hope to give you insight to exactly who I am and life details, all to make sense of why we are here, why I am here, and why I do things the way I do. Because for me, most of the time, there is always a reason… and this can be applied from the way I live, love, raise my children. As I start with that, I will first set the precedent details. We decided to get married sooner rather than later. Not that we cared about rules or the ‘traditional way’, in fact, it’s somewhat a defining characteristic in both of us that we don’t care about either. What we did care about was our child. I didn’t need a wedding, I had been there. I am usually purposely vague out of respect for Robert. This is our story, not just mine. But this time I wanted the marriage and not the wedding, when years ago, it was the opposite. I had been caught up in the southern tradition that most 24 year olds do, and was the one completely wrong. I needed more and had not known what at the time, but selfishly chose the only stability I knew. I have no regrets because everything is a journey and you are not who you are today without what you have gone through. I knew now what to appreciate in someone and how to treat someone. Which leads me to why I wanted Robert to have a wedding; he deserved one. It was important to me that we did some things in a big way because this was the beginning of our story together. And I knew this was it. Life is too short to not live honestly to yourself, live and love in the maximum capacity. I didn’t stop searching until I found that fulfillment that this relationship gives me, and I’m so glad I didn’t stop when I could have… when others told me I should have. Another reason was that we wanted Robert’s last name on Jackson’s birth certificate. Not that it is entirely significant in today’s day and age, but it kind was to us. We wanted everything worked out in every sense before our child came into the world, because then, we would be living to give them the best life possible.
Leading up to our wedding, I moved in Robert’s townhome in good ole Chamblee together and began prepping our life for everything. Most things during this time were a blur, but I do remember realizing Robert still smoked. I on the other hand, am the opposite of a smoker, as in, I despise it. Well, I knew that needed to change as soon as the baby came… I had become major Mama bear mode and a little protective. More on that fun time 
of Robert quitting smoking will come during ‘The Colic’ chapter. He learned that I am really not good with money and somehow can always find a reason to spend it. Luckily I also learned that he is so easy to live with and neat and clean. He is also one of the most unselfish people I have ever met. He wanted me to be the most comfortable and did whatever it took to make me feel at home. Robert genuinely wants to see me succeed, helps me with my dreams, and dreams alongside me. We both have a drive in life to go as far as we possibly can, because we have never been able to take anything for face value. We want more in life. This is how I know he is the one for me. He is the first person ever that when I told him my dreams and goals in life, he was basically like, so let’s do it. He came in rough around the edges and yet he balances and calms me. He is always so good about making me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. You know, like the Raheem song… err I mean [insert classy song here].
Robert began to sell his precious motorcycles to buy my engagement ring. One weekend Robert took all his clothes to the downstairs closet, went to Home Depot and bought a bunch of shelving, and basically made and gave me his closet. It was a tiny town home, in a somewhat sketchy part of town, with some of the best memories. We packed our lunches every day for months to save money, ate cookies together every night (pregnancy craving that Robert was super supportive of), found new parks to take walks in, tried out new recipes, and began to have some traditions together. It was the beginning of our lives and I will always remember it fondly.
Our wedding was fun, a true celebration, and just magical. My dress was poufy and I was only starting to show a little bit, so it was cool to kind of forget that part and not stress about it, if only for one night, (trust me the heartburn never let me forget). I could not wait to start life officially with this person, knowing that only him and I were going to have these shared experiences together. To this day, we literally laugh out loud and that we did not know each other when we got married. We joke about ‘marry first, love later’ light heartedly because we just don’t take ourselves too seriously. Or maybe we have been getting to know the people that marriage, children, parenthood, and true partnership has shaped us into. And I know life is not a fairy tale, especially with kids screaming (literally), but having it start out this way is a strong foundation. To truly feel like you are the lucky one. That is something I heard long ago and kept with me. So on our wedding day, I married a stranger while I was 5 months pregnant, and have been living my best life ever since.
Unfinished House 