celebrate with us!

I drove 5 hours from home to start a new job and a masters degree I didn’t even know if I really wanted. I left for Oklahoma not being able to get into my apartment for two weeks, nervous as hell for who I was about to meet all to work some early athletic summer camps. I drive into campus with no idea where I’m going, call my new boss to ask where I need to meet them and when I pull into where I am supposed to go.. the prettiest girl with a green michigan state shirt and a cute northern accent was the first person I saw. We did all the introductions, and talked for a while and the entire time my eyes kept going to her. By the amazing grace of God and my amazing luck, I got to share an office with this beautiful girl for the first year we worked together. Jess became my best friend that year, we were inseparable. From the football field, to sitting in the office laughing, late night Chili's or Applebee's after working 14 hours.. we ran the conversations, made everyone a third wheel, and neither of us could wrap our heads around that we were flirting the entire time. As that year came to an end and summer came around, I left for a few months. But we still talked every day. I would force myself to wait to text Jess so I didn’t seem too needy. The whole summer was me waiting to be back next to her. And that came, and we clicked again.. until she decided to take another job back to Michigan. I was sad, proud, excited for her opportunity. But crushed at the same time that I wasted a year of not telling her how I felt. So I processed that, started really flirting the last month she had in Oklahoma, I didn’t hold back, put it all out in the open and surprisingly she matched all of it. Fast forward to the last two weeks of Jess time in Oklahoma, we finally realized what we had been putting off. We kissed one night at her apartment and we stared at each other with the most shocked look. Each of us feeling so dumb that it took this long to figure out what everyone already assumed. Then she was off to Michigan. We managed the long distance with FaceTimes every night, texting throughout the day, and sometimes the random calls during work. I looked forward to the FaceTimes every night. It’s where we would talk about how close we were to seeing each other again. And planning our week adventures together, or talking about the day we moved in together. We planned and planned for months before everything became a reality. May 31st ‘23, my truck and a uhaul trailer were packed, Dad and I were off to chase the love of my life 893 miles away. June 1st we pulled into Mount Pleasant, Michigan and the first day we met replayed in my head because a pretty girl, not wearing a Michigan state shirt, but standing in Michigan was waving us in for me to finally come home.

My second year living in Oklahoma I met Ruston at work. I remember him driving up to work on a Sunday and the boss and I meeting him there to introduce ourselves. I couldn't really understand anything he said with his accent, but I'm sure I smiled and laughed anyway. Within the next few months we were around each other all the time, from sharing an office together, working the same sports together, and being in the same friend group. We used to live in neighboring apartments so we'd take turns driving each other to wherever the group hangout was that night. Looking back, it was at this point that we probably should've realized we liked each other… but neither of us got the hint. There was one day at work he called me from another building, I answered saying "hey bestie!" And the giggling we did on each side of the phone still makes me laugh. For the next year we texted nearly everyday, going back and forth on who would text the other first. He made every day more enjoyable, made work something to look forward to, and always knew how to make me laugh. Fast forward to Fall of 2022, I had gotten a new job and was moving back to Michigan. Saying goodbye to Rus was the most difficult thing I had to process. About two weeks before I moved away, Rus and I were hanging out and in my head I was thinking 'Well I'm moving anyways, I might as well see if he likes me back.' I ended up making the first move and I'm telling you the electricity in the air was like the movies. Within 24 hours we decided we were going to date and make long distance work for us. We ended up doing 8 months of long distance from Michigan to Oklahoma/Arkansas. Both having very demanding jobs, we were still able to fly back and forth to see each other and FaceTimed as often as we could. While the distance wasn't fun, it definitely made us a stronger couple. Ruston moved up to Michigan June 2023 and we got engaged in August 2024. The story of Ruston and I is my favorite. From strangers, to besties, to Husband and Wife.