It's about time we got married!

A brief timeline: It all started the old-fashioned way: online! 😁 Allison had signed up for the dating website just a day or two before Chris had, and was already wanting to give up. She was just about to delete her account when on 9/13/2018, a man named Chris messaged her and said “Hey girly. How are you?” Allison had never been called “girly,” but she was curiously intrigued by this pet name (not to mention his picture). So she responded! Chris was the last person Allison talked to on the site, and Allison was Chris’s first AND last. From the first phone conversation, they knew this was something special. They talked every night for hours, until they were falling asleep on the phone. Just a few days later (9/18/2018), before they even met in person, Chris asked Allison to “be his lady.” Of course she said yes! Their first date was at an Italian restaurant in Milledgeville, and it was perfect! And all of their dates have been perfect ever since. ❤️

It was Memorial Day, and I had to work a half day later in the evening. Chris also had to work (because the streets don’t stop!). I had just woken up, and Chris asked if I wanted to go for a walk. I was sooo tired, but I knew how much this day meant to him, so I got my butt up and put on the closest clean clothes I could find and we went on our merry little way. We went to Coleman Hill Park in downtown Macon and started walking and talking about who knows what. I started to notice there was a lady I’ve never seen who seemed to be standing very close to us. I was honestly a little creeped out, but I didn’t say anything, because if there’s anything I know, it’s that Chris will protect me. So I tried to get her out of my mind and focus back on Chris. He asked me if I wanted to take a picture of us, which of course he knew I’d say yes. He brought a couple little American flags with him, in light of Memorial Day, and handed them to me and told me to find a good spot for the pictures. There was a large cross that was on a big slab of cement. I had never seen it at that park before, so I started walking that way, with him following a few steps behind. When I got to the cemented area, I turned around, and Chris and the aforementioned lady were walking towards me. She walked straight up to me and asked to hold my coffee mug. “Just hand it to me, Sweety.” I was soooo confused! I didn’t think I was being robbed or whatever, but I had no idea what was going on. I looked over at Chris, and he just gave me a nod and a smile, like he was saying “Do it.” So I just gave it to her. I’m telling you guys - looking back, I don’t know what I was thinking. I literally just handed one of my favorite coffee mugs to a woman I had NEVER seen before. Craziness!

Anyway. After I gave her my beloved coffee, I turned back around to Chris and he was on one knee! When he said the words “I’m not afraid anymore,” I finally understood what was happening. I cried harder than I’ve ever cried in my life. I was SO shocked! Meanwhile, the stranger (which I found out after the proposal was Rhonda - a dispatcher Chris works with) was taking pictures of the whole thing. ❤️ Honestly, a lot of what he said was drowned out by my own sobbing tears. I just couldn’t believe it was happening, though I was ready for it to happen a long time ago! Well OBVIOUSLY I said “yes,” after a lot of crying and hugging. It was probably another five minutes before Chris said, “So.... do you want to try on the ring?” 😂 I didn’t care about the ring at the moment. I just wanted to marry this man. But boy is my ring a beauty!!

A couple of nights prior to the proposal I had just gotten off work and into my car to drive home. I was very excited to get off and see Allison so that we could talk about our day. I started to think about her heavily on the drive home. So much so that I changed the music from the personal playlist I had recently created to a Dave Matthews Band playlist. The first song that played was Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin) I’d heard that dang song a million times but that night the homie Dave Matthews was really talking to a brother. Allison had no idea about all the JOY I had planned for Memorial Day on that drive home. Allison and I spent quality time throughout that night holding hands and making plans in hopes of moving out of her apartment and into a new home together. Before I went to work the following evening Allison showcased her beautiful fingernails to me with a new color I’ve yet to see. I love her nails and I always take the time to show appreciation for her taking care of them and keeping them nice and pretty on a consistent basis. When she showed me her nails, I said to myself, “Man them thangs looking real nice”. It was like perfect timing because of what I had planned the following day for us. She really helped solidify my plan by doing her nails very nicely.

On the day of the proposal I woke up extremely early, went outside on the back balcony, and said a prayer for all of the fallen Warriors who made the ultimate sacrifice on Foreign and Domestic soil with their lives for this country. I woke Allison up and told her I wanted to go somewhere so that we could spend time together on one of my favorite holidays. She was very sluggish at first but once she made her coffee she was great. I asked a radio dispatcher at my department to meet me at the Woodruff House near the The Mercer Law School. I had already issued her a plan and she agreed to do it. Allison and I made it to the destination and got out the car. I chose that particular area because you can overlook all of downtown Macon from the high hills. I personally love that spot. Especially when I’m at work because I always feel like Batman overlooking Gotham at night as a police officer 😁. Anyways. We got out the vehicle and I made sure I grabbed a couple of small American flags and told Allison I wanted to take a picture with her. I told her to pick any spot she wanted because she possesses a great eye for photos. Rhonda, the dispatcher, approached us right on cue. I dropped down to a knee and asked her to be My Lady. She said YES and gave me a hug so tight that I had to check my pulse afterwards for the proper beats per minute. She made me so happy that day. I’m a lucky man.