I decided to get back into living my life after a horrible divorce and a series of devastating life events. I met new friends and we became active with outdoor adventures together. One of them soon decided to sell her home and needed me to help her pack her home. As a thank you gift, she left a piece of furniture in the house for me to pick up. I tried several times to coordinate the pickup with her real estate agent but was unsuccessful. That agent finally arranged the pickup with the new owner, Michael -- on September 13, 2013, the day he closed on buying my girlfriend's home.

Michael took a lot of time in planning an incredible winter vacation to the island of St. Barths! We love travelling together, especially to exotic destinations. I was truly excited! We went shopping together and talked (a little) about the activities we'd enjoy. Looking back, I see there was a lot of secrecy that I had no idea about while "we" were planning. Lol! I was absolutely overjoyed when we landed and picked up our car! The island is breathtakingly beautiful! I was eager to get to our hotel, unpack and get settled in. I hoped to slip into my bathing suit and get to vacationing. Imagine my surprise when we pulled up to an exclusive villa with THREE sides and the fourth side open to mountains, the glorious sky above and the bluest Caribbean Sea. I gawked at what I saw! The villa was incredible! The furnishings were stately. There was a pool in our family room. We had an outdoor shower... And we were greeted by a personal chef who created the most incredible meal and a bartender who had me sangin, chile! It was marvelousss!! After days of having a fabulous time together, one evening Michael told me we would be entertaining company at a dinner party in our villa and to take my time getting dressed. (With Michael & I, this occurred often and so was not strange to me.) After taking my time, I discovered we had another personal chef, as well as a bartender and two musicians who were preparing to entertain us. The personal chef from the first evening had also come (as our guest) to dine with us. The chef prepared a four-course meal of lobster bisque, lobster salad, lobster and vegetables and a delightful desert (which was yummy but I forgot exactly what it was). Everything was incredible! I had a marvelous time talking with the chef from the first evening. I remember wondering why my normal eager-beaver was so quiet and not as engrossed in the conversation. At one point, I turned to include Michael in the conversation, only to discover that he seemed to be somewhat busy. The next thing I knew, the music stopped. He began speaking rather loudly about my character... I was confused; it wasn't my birthday, you see. So I decided to focus on understanding what was going on. All of a sudden, my Michael got down on his knee with a ring in his hand. Whewww! Everything sounded muffled! I eventually heard my Michael explain that we had invited about 80 guests over Zoom to dinner. My kids, our family members, and many of our friends had been invited to share this special moment! I was so surprised that I almost forgot to answer his question. Someone pointed out that they didn't hear me answer. I yelled "YES," and, just like that, we were engaged. What took us ten years to cure only took, when we were ready, eight weeks to pull off! Lol! We're so excited to celebrate this incredible moment with you. Over the years, our life together has truly been filled with moments that dreams are made of. On September 10th, we are planning to host an experience for you that, we hope, will allow you to be filled with all the amazing delight, excitement and fascination that we are feeling! Thank you for blessing us with your friendship, support and love! We cannot wait to see you at our nuptial exchange celebration ~ in Asheville or on our virtual platform!