The universe is grand and mysterious. I moved to Texas from California during the summer of 2020 (a cautious time when getting to know new people was very strange) not knowing anyone here other than my cousin and his boyfriend. I had recently made friends with my neighbor who was also a dog person, and he had a "friend I might like." with the little information I did have via Instagram and text exchanges we did go out. The rest as they say, is history!

It was approaching our one year anniversary and Mandy and I wanted to do something special. We wanted to go somewhere, but where? I was watching one of my favorite family feel good movies, The Shinning, when it hit me. You could stay at the hotel they filmed The Shinning in! So we booked it. Getting to the hotel was absolutely terrifying, it was snowing and the Toyota Corolla was a two wheel drive and most of those mountain roads DO NOT have guard rails. So after a four hour drive from the airport to the hotel it was awful. We finally get to the hotel and sit down and eat, check in, and get to bed. The next day we walked around the grounds and found the fabled Hedge Maze from The Shinning (slightly different from what appears on film). As we make our way through the maze we find that end of it. We’re talking about life insurance policies (don’t worry I’m safe for now) I got down on one knee said a bunch of stuff I can’t remember because I was so nervous I couldn’t breathe. After all that I’m still in awe that she said yes. I’m luckiest boy on earth.