We're getting Married!

And you may find yourself Living in a shotgun shack And you may find yourself In another part of the world And you may find yourself Behind the wheel of a large automobile And you may find yourself in a beautiful house With a beautiful wife And you may ask yourself, well How did I get here?

We met in marching band (*audible surprise*). The band was traveling on a midnight bus trip down to Pasadena to beat USC (not us, the football team, real nail-biter of a game btw). There was interest and intrigue, but we were basically still kids; the timing wasn't right. We added each other on Facebook and proceeded to coexist at various college events as friends.

A few years went by, and we had both been independently selected to join Cardinal Calypso, Stanford's Premier Steel Drum Band™. We ran into each other at one of Calypso's summer gatherings, got some pizza and In-n-Out, and Aaron gave Amanda a ride home. A couple of weeks later, we went on a hike at Stinson Beach. Aaron told Amanda that he had feelings for her. Amanda said that she was "in the same boat." A relationship ensued.

Amanda graduated with lots of degrees. Aaron got more degrees, too. We got jobs. We moved in together. We adopted a dog (shouts out to Lemon, the best girl). We bought a house! We bought an Instant Pot. We traveled. There was much rejoicing. The rona arrived. There was less rejoicing.

We went back to Stinson beach as an anniversary throwback to our first date. On the way up, Aaron brought a backpack with Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic water, some COVID takeout, and an engagement ring. On the way down, they drank the tonic water and Amanda wore the engagement ring.