How We Met
Eric and I met in the beginning of 2009 while attending The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). I was on the cheerleading squad and Eric was doing work-study in the student athlete weight room, which means he was the one putting us through our workouts every morning. One day we were doing timed sprints and I swear there must’ve been a wet spot on the gym floor because as soon as Eric yelled “GO” I was flat on my face! And that was when I heard his laugh– the loudest, most outrageous, and unforgettable laugh I have ever heard in my life. Talk about an ice breaker! Since I was a freshman with a meal plan, Eric would always ask me to swipe him in at the campus cafeteria, the Roadrunner Café. After sharing several cafeteria-style meals together, we started hanging out more often. We went to a basketball game together where he showed off his ability to peel an orange in one piece, he cooked me a meatless spaghetti dinner (yuck), and we went to a party where we shared our first kiss and bonded over our love for the movie “The Little Rascals.” One day Eric invited me to go on a run with him. Now, I should probably mention that Eric ran on the UTSA track and cross country teams and I dreaded running a mile during cheer practice. So needless to say, I thought I was going to die when we ended up running much faster than my usual pace and Eric was trying to have a conversation with me the entire time! We had our first official date at A&W to get root beer floats and as they say, the rest was history! Now, almost 7 years later, he still has the same obnoxious laugh and I’m still just as clumsy as the day we met, but he doesn’t make me run with him and he always makes sure my spaghetti has meat in it. After all, isn’t that what best friends are for?
how they asked
Eric and I moved from San Antonio to Houston about 2.5 years ago and as we were planning our trip home to San Antonio for Christmas, I mentioned going downtown to see the Christmas lights. He said it was a good idea and that we should get a group together to go. Since it was common for me to make plans in advance to see all my friends whenever we were planning to come in town, I didn’t think twice about organizing the evening downtown with our friends. The plan was to go downtown to the San Antonio Riverwalk to see the Christmas lights and then go to dinner and out for some drinks. I had no idea I was planning my own post-engagement celebration! Leading up to the day, all my friends had an excuse for why they couldn’t meet us at the Riverwalk and it ended up just being us. We walked around the Riverwalk and decided to take a picture in front of the Christmas tree. We asked a couple to take our picture for us, and after the first picture Eric said he was going to go check it to make sure it turned out okay, but really he was showing them the ring and asking them to capture the big moment. The wind was blowing and it was humid outside, so I was trying to tame my hair while he was “checking” the picture, and when I looked back towards him he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. During our almost 7 years together, we had talked about marriage and I had imagined this moment happening a million times, so I never thought it was possible that I could truly be surprised when he finally popped the question. Boy, was I wrong! I immediately burst into tears and (in complete shock and trying my best to hide my ugly crying face) managed to utter the word “YES!” I then heard cheering from the across the river where we were standing and turned to see our best friends there witnessing the moment. We then made our way to the restaurant where more of our close friends were waiting to celebrate with us!
