We met in our second grade class. I have memories of his mom having fun activities for our classroom holiday parties. We didn't speak again until 5th grade when both of our best friends at the time were "archenemies" so we picked on each other. After that we didn't speak to each other regularly until high school when I started dating one of his friends. He always picked on me and I was one of the few people that would give it right back to him. After high school we hung out on and off during college but didn't talk consistently. After we both graduated and became adults is when we reconnected, started talking and the rest is history.

The proposal did not exactly go according to plan. I would call it the opposite actually. We had discussed taking that next step for awhile, so I knew she would be more suspicious if I did something grand. So I devised what I thought was a brilliant plan. I was going to propose on my birthday. She would never expect it because I would try and come of as selfish as I could and make her think I wanted my birthday to be all about me. As an extra step, I also hid the ring in my sock so she wouldn't notice it! Little did she know, I had other plans. I decided to do it at the Signature Room, the restaurant downtown on the top floor of the John Hancock. However, to pull it off, I wanted it to seem spontaneous. So I figured we could go for an early lunch. I never would have thought there would be a line around the block before they opened! It was a disaster. It was so crowded I could not even find a semi private spot to do it. After we had a cocktail and appetizer, we wandered around the restaurant trying to find any way to set up the proposal with a nice view. Much to my dismay, every square inch of window was blocked by people. As my frustration mounted, I could tell she was starting to tell something was off. Finally, out of desperation, I just turned around in the hallway by the elevators and said "This is not going how I had planned", and then I could tell by her face she knew. So I asked her right there. Thankfully, she said yes! I then had a manager clear a space for us to take a picture, which he was kind enough to do. Then we got out of there and went to an actually good restaurant! Gibson's, one of my personal favorites. The stress didn't stop there, because I also had a surprise party planned back at our apartment. After what felt like the longest train ride of my life, we made it back and everyone shouted "SURPRISE!" and the rest is history. It didn't go according to plan, but I wouldn't have had it go any other way.