Most people are ashamed or regretful about the worst parts of their lives. A broke person won’t brag about their $100,000 of debt. A drug addict doesn’t want to mention their addiction. An adulterous man doesn’t want to explain why his ex-wife divorced him.
Being widowed at the young age of 19 has been the worst thing that has ever happened to me. But unlike these other tragedies, I am not a bit ashamed or regretful about the decisions that led me here. In fact, I am proud to be Brady’s young widow.
When I vowed my life to Brady around a year ago, I knew that our marriage would be harder and more heartbreaking than most. While Brady didn’t have a death sentence on our wedding day, I did know that he was sick and would likely become sicker throughout our marriage.
On July 20th, 2019, I vowed to love Brady Hunker and choose him no matter what life would throw at us. I promised Brady that I would honor him and selflessly live to serve him for the rest of our lives.
I wasn’t the perfect wife, just like Brady wasn’t a perfect husband, but I lived up to the promises that I made to Brady on our wedding day, and I am proud of that.
I am proud to have loved Brady fully and so selflessly.
I am proud to have given Brady a more fulfilling and happier life.
I am proud that when life with Brady got dark and scary that I didn’t turn away or hide in fear. I continued to love him with all the passion I could muster.
All of this wasn’t easy. It took courage to love Brady through the hardest times a person could go through. And yet, I was never forced to love him. I was never forced to live a life with him. I chose to walk beside him on his journey.
Loving Brady in the midst of his battle with cancer didn’t make me naïve or blind to reality, it showed that my love for him is stronger than my fear of heartbreak and pain.
And, I am not a bit ashamed or regretful that at 19 years old, I have been engaged, married, and widowed. I am proud that I have never been afraid of the future. I am proud that my love for Brady was never altered by his health or by any physical capability. I am proud that when times are now tough, I walk forward with both eyes open, accepting all of the joys and pains that come with being a young widow.
It takes strength to love when death is near, to love someone whose body deteriorates to nothing. As Brady’s wife, I truly loved him and selflessly put his needs before my own. And as Brady’s widow, I continue to love him by living the life he dreamed for me. And, I am proud of it all.
When we think of Brady, we are proud of him for the way he faced the greatest of life’s challenges, and when we think of you, we are proud of the way you have faced the realities of your life with grace. Love ya, Mollie girl. ~John and Pat