Since we never got the chance to come up with a cool fake story of how we met, I guess we'll just go with the truth and embrace it - we met on Catholic Match. It was a perfectly timed leap of faith well worth the (one time) monthly fee. We both joined the site on August 13th, and matched three days later. Luke led with a very unique and well thought out opening message: "Hey, I'm Luke!" Let's just say I wasn't so eager to respond right away. After a day or two, I figured "Why not!" and sent him a reply. We spent a week sending emails back and forth. Emails led to text messages, text messages led to phone calls, and eventually (finally) Luke asked me on a first date. We decided on something we both love to eat - pizza! I got to Mellow Mushroom first and was worried Luke stood me up when he text me "I'm here!"... because he definitely was not there. Turns out he went to the wrong pizza restaurant (thanks, Google Maps). Eventually he found the right place and we spent the next three hours talking, smiling and laughing over a large pizza that went practically uneaten. Even though that first date started with a scare and ended with a very awkward side hug, I guess you could say things worked out because here we are now!

In 2020 (thanks, Covid) we learned to love and appreciate some very simple date nights - virtual happy hours, home cooked dinners with each other's families, and especially going on afternoon picnics. When my original plan to propose in Tiger Stadium didn't work out (twice), I decided a picnic would make for the perfect proposal. Except every time I asked about going on a picnic, Paige was never up for it. One particular Friday night I was adamant about going to the park. Paige reluctantly agreed, but only after first eating crawfish at her house and then "swinging by" Academy to return something. We made it to the park just in time to enjoy the sunset while sitting on a park bench talking about our future. Finally, this was IT. I got down on my knee and... of course, she said yes! It wasn't perfect and definitely didn't go according to the original plan (or back-up plan), but it couldn't have been a more "us" moment and now we have a story to smile and laugh about forever.