It was the middle of the pandemic and I had recently moved to Lynnfield, Massachusetts. I was growing bored and decided it was a good time to start practicing going on dates. I had my roommate at the time, Kristin, make me a "Hinge" dating app as I had no idea what I was supposed to do or say on a dating app. Over tacos & margaritas she created my profile, set my preferences and added photos. I told her I was going to be "The Bachelorette" and go on as many dates as possible because I needed the practice. I made a pact to myself to say "yes" to anyone who asked me on a date, no judgement. The first one to ask me on a date? A guy named Jake! On a Monday night, August 17th 2020 I was getting ready for my first date with the mindset that it didn't really matter how it went because I would probably never see this guy again after the date. Little did I know that I was getting ready to meet my husband. Jake arrived to my apartment to pick me up and I got super nervous. I got in his car and said "Hi, I'm Sarah," he smiled and responded "Wow, you're even more beautiful in person" to which I nervously laughed, rolled my eyes and looked away. I told him I was really nervous and we made our way to Lynnfield Market Street where he has made a reservation at Davio's. We got to the restaurant and I realized I forgot my mask! Jake had an extra in his car so we put on our masks and entered the restaurant. How awkward.. having to wear a mask on a first date.... We ended up having so much to talk about and quickly got passed the generic "first date" topics and dove into our life experiences, challenges and even our faith. I was so engaged in the conversation asking questions and learning about Jake's life. When he got to asking me questions and the topic of my job came up I tried to casually tell him I was Miss New Hampshire. I remember him being completely shocked and amazed. Our conversations could have continued on for hours longer that night but we eventually noticed we were the last one's left in the restaurant and the waitstaff was starting to close up. He drove me back to my apartment and dropped me off. At the beginning of the night, I figured this would be a one date type thing, but by the time he dropped me off, I was incredibly cautious but wildly curious to learn more. I ultimtely decided we had so much to talk about it wouldn't hurt to give the guy a chance, go on a second date and see where it leads...............

August 17th of 2020 turned out to be a pretty important day in my life. It was a long drive from Weymouth to Lynnfield Commons with plenty of Boston traffic to give me more time to get nervous about a first date. I’ll never forget how beautiful she looked walking to the car. It had me wondering what she was doing going out on a date with me, but I decided to keep that to myself. Our first date was at Davios in Lynnfield. We stayed until the place closed and were the only ones still in the restaurant when we got up to leave. I knew immediately that this girl was special. I didn’t want the date to end. I remember when I knew I was going to marry Sarah. It was relatively early in our relationship and one of the first days she spent real time with Asa. At this age, Asa was not a fan of many people (including myself), and if she didn’t like you it was going to be known. I already knew I really liked Sarah and to say I was nervous about how things were going to go with Asa would be an understatement. To my surprise, Asa warmed right up to “Dawah” and wanted her to put makeup on her face. Asa seemed more comfortable with her than she was with me, and I was fine with that. I had told myself that whoever I was going to be with had to love my daughter. I remember sitting on the other side of the room watching the two of them start their bond, knowing I was going to marry that girl. It took Sarah a bit longer to make any firm decisions about me. I later found out that she initially accepted my request for a date because she told herself she was going to say yes to whoever asked. Basically, I was “practice” for her to get back into the dating world. Exactly four years later I get to marry the woman of my dreams. I guess I did alright. So much for practice.

I never thought Jake could surprise me... but he pulled it off! I was working an extra shift at the dance studio that was running later than expected and Jake, Asa & I had dinner plans with Jake's mother that night! I came home and rushed to get ready for dinner.. Jake & Asa were patiently waiting downstairs in the living room. When I came down I sat on the couch completely unsuspecting as Jake was nervously standing with the receipt from our first date in his pocket. He took it out and handed it to me and reminded me that today was exactly 2.5 Years since that first date. My response was a casual "oh yeah, how nice" and then he started reaching into the next pocket and I was completely shocked to watch him pull out a ring and get on one knee! I was stunned speechless and Asa ran over asking "Are you guys getting married?!" as she grabbed the ring out of the box. Jake reminded me that I hadn't even said the important three letter word yet.... "YES" I finally answered as Asa slipped the ring on my finger!