Our love story began at a middle school. Kristen was the bookroom clerk and Andrew was a substitute teacher. One day, Kristen stumbled into Andrew’s classroom and we both felt a connection that we had never felt before. Each day of work we would look forward to sharing glances across a room, flashing smiles in the halls, and leaving sticky notes on each other’s desks. Our first official date was to the El Paso History Museum. We were both so nervous and awkward! But as we left, Kristen’s shoe was untied and Andrew got down on one knee to tie it for her, foreshadowing what the future would hold. We thought it would all be so effortless, but life got in the way. It seemed like the universe didn’t want us to be together. We could have given up, but we chose to fight. We fought for ourselves, for each other, and for a future together. We even said “I love you” before we were officially together (Kristen said it first). We made it official on January 10th, 2023. . . We were engaged less than 2 months later. Our love has grown each and every day. We’re clumsy. We’re goofy. We’re both scatterbrained half the time. We lose things. We run out of clean clothes. We forget things at home. But we never forget to say “I love you.” We never forget to kiss before we leave the house. We never forget to wear our rings (yes, Andrew has an engagement ring too). And we never forget how lucky we are to have each other. We still look forward to sharing a glance, to flashing a smile, and to every little special moment that we get to share. That’s where our love lies. It lies in the beautiful little details that make our story one worth cherishing. . . until the end of time.