A Celebration of Love...

Truly... Neither of us remember who requested to be friends first on Facebook, nor when, nor why. LOL! We chuckle as we look back at photos over the years where we've crossed paths.. same events, different crowds. All we know is that one day... one of us made a comment about Texas Roadhouse rolls.... and the other offered to accompany them to get those rolls--- except-- that's STILL not how we met! Chanice agreed to get some Texas Roadhouse with Nathan, after a lengthy travel contract of her being away, and months of chatting online-- it was finally time to meet up for lunch-- except-- Texas Roadhouse was CLOSED! They don't open til 4pm, who knew?!! So that day--- decidedly the day we would ever spend INTENTIONAL time together, we decided to meet at a cute little Thai restaurant in Bethesda, MD. We enjoyed our dinner and went nearby to Jeni's Ice Cream, where we sat and chatted for a few hours over what is now our favorite ice cream! We learned so much about each other that day... including, but not limited to the fact that-- we were not ready for the kind of relationship that would be required if we were to pursue one another... so.. we parted ways and remained friends. Great friends in fact. We chatted about life transitions, gave pep talks, celebrated wins, and even gathered advice and guidance since we met in 2021.

"This is what it has been like for me to be in love at forty. To be surprised every day by the simple beauty of it all. I once thought that love was a thing that was so intense that it tore you apart. That it was sex that might kill you with its ferocity. That it was emotions that swung so wildly you got dizzy. That it was a thing you survived. I dreamed of a love you couldn’t run away from if you tried. A love that chased after you and took you over. That is the love that is sold to us in movies and books. The truth is that life is the thing that can be so intense it threatens to tear you apart. Life is the thing that swings wildly and tries to kill you with its ferocity. Love is what helps you survive it."

We were spending the week in Las Vegas for my birthday! The night before we went to The Eiffel Tower Restaurant--- THEE most beautiful restaurant I may have EVER been to. The view, the service, the FOOD, and the ambiance? Stellar! It was amazing!!! I just knew he was going to propose-- but... NOPE.. LOL, and WE'VE HAD SO MANY OF THESE MOMENTS over the past few months! You see, our life is truly comprised of magical moments-- it's truly something extraordinary, if you ask me. Right after the restaurant, we were VIP at the Usher Concert, one of the final days of his Residency! During the concert-- Usher came RIGHT BY OUR ROW! Nathan asked me "What if i proposed RIGHT NOW?" I gasped!! I told him he'd have to ask Usher for permission to disrupt his concert! HAHAHA I WAS SHAKING LIKE A LEAF!! Spoiler: He didn't propose in that moment either. Whew! The next day, during the early part of the day-- Nathan had to work so we weren't really planning much-- but-- somehow we ended up deciding to head over to visit the Hoover Dam. Truly-- impromptu! So there we were at the Hoover Dam, Arizona side.... chatting it up.. as always... I said something like "Gah, I love adventuring with you.." He said something like "I want to do this forever.....' Now-- the truth is-- if you know us at ALL-- you already know that our life is an adventure. We travel, we try new things, we enjoy each other very much. So-- dialogue like this was--- completely NORMAL. I was in jeans and my new Usher Hoodie! He was in sweat pants and a t-shirt! I had no make up on, not camera ready, hands ASHY AND ALL! I did NOT expect what would come next— which would be him, on one knee.... at the perfect place and time. He was acting all nervous... (so sweet!). "*we shared some private moments before he finally said the words* .... Chanice, Will you marry me?" So my response-- in PURE Chanice fashion was NOT a simple yes. But I DID say yes,... just so we are clear! I said "YES OF COURSE I WILL!", and scooped him up and told him: "You asked me that as if you didn't know my answer would have been YES since this time last year! Come here!"... We hugged... we kissed... we took photos and shared with our friends... Then we toured the Hoover Dam--- to continue along with the BEST DAM DAY EVER! By the way, this all happened ON MY BIRTHDAY! Forever a “Birthdayversary”!

Finding the right time and place to propose was a struggle but I think it all worked out in the end… I knew I wanted to marry Chanice for months but I knew I couldn’t live without her when we got back from Denver… My mother started to decline rapidly and Chanice was my rock during this time. I talked to my mother and she told me that she loved Chanice and that she felt like Chanice would make sure I was okay… She said that she would love for Chanice and I to get married, that day I went with Natalie to the jewelry store to get the ring, but Natalie and a few other family members and friends advised that with everything going on it wasn’t the best time. Within a few days mom passed… my world was spinning, Chanice continued to be my rock. She cared for me in a way I had never experienced before… I never once felt alone as I was trying to navigate this new reality. But the moment to propose never seemed right… mom’s memorial was on the horizon, we had a million things going on and again I wanted her moment to be completely hers. During the next few months I was able to talk to Chanice’s mom, dad, and many other friends and family of hers to make sure that they were on board with us eventually getting married, but still no moment felt just right. Then we went to Vegas to see the Usher residency and celebrate her birthday. I brought the ring with me everywhere we went hoping to find the perfect moment. the restaurant before the concert was beautiful but it didn’t seem right… One of Chanice’s close friends even reached out and was trying to help me plan a “perfect” proposal while we were in town. Then we went to the Usher concert. It was amazing and Usher was right in front of us, I could have and probably should have proposed then… but it still didn’t feel like HER moment… I’m sure it would have been unique and special in its own way but just didn’t feel like IT. The next day was her birthday so we had a few things planned for later in the day but we were left with some free time before our next reservation so I suggested that we go to the Hoover Dam. While there she mentioned how much she enjoyed going on “adventures” with me, we had done something similar while in Colorado by randomly driving up to Pikes Peak, and I told her I wanted to go on adventures with her for the rest of our lives and in that moment asked her if she would marry me…