Forever and Ever, Amen.

There I was, one knee on the ground, a fiery diamond ring in a quaint red box resting in the palm of my hands, waiting for the love of my life to turn around and answer the once in a lifetime question I was preparing to ask her. “Sarah Austin Presley, will you marry me?” For a boy growing up, weddings and proposals are never amongst the things we fantasize about. Even as boys turn to men, we still struggle with this notion of an eternal partner. Many go off in search of “the one” while others simply never toil with the thought. For myself, I can say I am truly blessed in this regard. I seemingly stumbled across my other half in a way and at a time I least expected. From early on, it was apparent that she was special. Never had I met another girl like her, and I knew I never would again. Infamously, I told Sarah towards the beginning of our relationship together that I knew she was “the one”. From then on, it was inevitable what was to come. However, how it was to happen was a total mystery to me. I contemplated the idea of a proposal and how I would go about it. Every detail from the ring to the location weighed on my mind for months. And after much help from my grandmother and future mother-in-law, everything finally came together. Sarah’s favorite animal, the elephant, is a symbol of the loving relationship she shared with her late father. As it was imperative to have him present in this process, I proposed to Sarah overlooking a small herd of elephants at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. She was shocked when she turned around and saw me there in that position but did manage to get out the word “yes” whilst I slid the ring onto her finger. After taking in the moment, we made our way to Magic Kingdom where we partook in an evening of romantic dining at Cinderella’s Castle followed by a special viewing of the fireworks show and a select dessert tasting. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day as it was also the perfect beginning to the rest of our lives together.

I was only 18 and had recently started my first job at Panera Bread. I already thought I was in Carb Heaven when I looked up from wiping down a table to find my manager sitting with a VERY attractive guy. WOW! This was one of those moments a girl fantasizes about in her head: a cute new person joining their class or their job. I was so excited! When my manager went back to get paperwork, I casually approached the cute stranger and asked if he was applying for a job there. He said that he was and my heart soared! A cute new guy at work! I do not remember exactly what I said after that - something to seal the deal about how much he'd love it there - but I am pretty sure that I did not even think to ask him for his name. I quickly made my way to the back and started anxiously sharing the news with my trainer. Little did I know that the new recruit would have ME as HIS trainer. I'm crazy and our first shift together was a first date as far as I was concerned; it went so well! I am usually nervous and awkward around guys but my new crush, 'Kyle', was incredibly easy to talk to. We laughed and had great conversation and I could already tell that this was an immediate friendship. I truly had never connected like this with someone. Before I knew it, we were regularly on shift together, regulary carpooling, and regularly messaging. Kyle became one of my closest friends in the blink of an eye. I joke with Kyle that I'm Jim and he's my Pam because he was the one dating while we were friends and I was the one waiting! However, our friendship, chemistry, and connection withstood the test of time. After that first kiss, I knew I'd never have a first kiss again. "For a really long time that's all I had. Little moments with a guy who saw me as a friend. And, a lot of people told me I was crazy to wait this long for a date with a guy I work with but I think, even then, I knew that I was waiting for my husband."