Deborah Sweeney & the late John Cox
Growing up, my father was not around much. He would always call and tell me he would visit me and never would show up. As I got older, I always told myself if I can't trust my own father, I would never be able to trust any man; I was afraid to love.
It all started on Aug. 20, 2009, when I met a man named John Cox. I soon came to realize that he would change my feelings about falling in love.
We met at our place of employment, Sundance Vacations. My older sister, Amanda, worked with us and prior to our relationship, he would always tell her, "You know, I'm going to marry your sister some day."
A few months into our relationship, John lost his job. He came into work on my break and told me that he would have to move to Lehighton with his mom. He said for me to stay back with my family, because he knew just how important and close my family was and meant to me.
I looked at him and cried. I told him, "I want to come with you." He hugged me and told me he loved me, and from that moment on, I knew I loved him just as much as he loved me. So in a very short time, I decided I was going to leave all three of the jobs I was employed at. I decided to pick up and leave with him without looking back. We wanted to start a relationship and a family.
We moved to Lehighton to his mother's home. While staying with her, we went through some hard times. My mom and family thought it was not like me to pick up and leave, especially with a man. She never agreed with our relationship, and didn't give John much of a chance to get to know him. She did everything in her power to try and make me come home. I refused to come home, and assured her how much I loved John and that I would continue to live with him and grow deeper in love.
After a few months of living with his mother, neither of us were able to find a job right away so we were collecting unemployment and living paycheck to paycheck. We didn't know anybody in Lehighton except each other, which let us get to know anything and everything about one another.
After a year passed, we both found jobs, and decided we wanted to live in Lehighton and find a place of our own. We really liked the area and minded our own business. We found our own place and we fought for full custody for his son. After winning that long battle of custody, everything was falling into place and we decided to try and start a family of our own.
After two years of trying to conceive, in mid-January we found out we were pregnant. It was the happiest day of our lives. We had already had a girl's name picked out, and we decided to name her Alizhae which means "made from true love."
One day, when I came home from work, little did I know my life was going to change so fast. I came home to find my fiance had passed away in his sleep. I was completely heartbroken, and had no idea where to begin to pick up the pieces of my life that just got ripped right out from under me. I decided it was best for me to move back home to be around my family and help me get through such a tragedy.
A few months later, on Sept 27, 2011, I gave birth a beautiful baby girl Alizhae Diamond Cox. She is my rock and keeps me going every single day. Losing John was the hardest thing that ever happened to me, but I take the good with the bad and I believe that Alizhae is a blessing. As long as I have her and she has me, John and my love will live for infinity and beyond.
Deborah Sweeney