By the time I proposed, Grace and I had already been together for 7 years. But I knew she was the woman I wanted to marry I wanted to marry within 6 months. She is everything I’m not. She is the ying to my yang. As corny as that sounds, it’s as true as the sky is blue. She has stuck it out with me through it all and has always been my rock. Even though I had known that I wanted to marry her, I was wasn’t able to buy her the ring of her dreams. She told me multiple times that she didn’t care about the ring and she just wanted to be my wife. As a man, I didn’t want her to settle for anything less, no matter how long it took. In 2021, I got my first big bonus. I took it straight to Sissy’s Log Cabin and had a custom ring designed. I held onto it for 6 months, even hiding it in the trunk of my work vehicle so she wouldn’t find it. I wanted to wait until the perfect time so that all her waiting was worthwhile. March of 2022, I decided to take her on a trip for her birthday. She had been sending me videos of Top of the Rock, and asking to go explore the caves while we were there. I knew it was the perfect opportunity. We took a golf cart tour that took us through all of the caves and waterfalls—it was beautiful. At the very end there was a lookout point that stretched over the mountain and it was the perfect backdrop. I knew it was my chance— this was the place I was going to ask her to spend the rest of her life with me. We got off the golf cart and went to the end of the walkway while Grace found a couple to ask if they could take our picture. We took one photo, and then I said , “Can you take more, I blinked!” As we were getting ready for the photo, I pulled the ring out. The girl taking the photo said, “Smile!” And I got down on one knee. At first, Grace thought I was joking. She kept saying, “Stop that!” before she realized it was not a joke and this was a real ring. The person taking our photo quickly switched to video as I told her how much she meant to me and asked her to marry me. She said yes, but I think she was in shock for the next few hours. We got back in the golf cart and rode off into the sunset. Happily ever after.