How We Met
Our adventures began about 9 and a half years ago, when I first laid eyes on my now finance, Mike. My friend Danielle was dating his brother, Sean, at the time in high school and the 3 of us all went to Sean’s house to hang out. When we got there, I saw Mike in the pool with some friends and I said to my friend Danielle, “who is that guy in the pool?! He is so cute!” And she said that was Sean’s brother Mike, and actually her older brothers best friend. I immediately knew I had to get to know him and told her to invite me to her house the next time he was over with her brother. So a few times I just “so happened” to show up when he was there, and we hung out a little bit. It wasn’t until New Years Eve in 2009 though when Danielle and I got invited to Mike’s party. I knew this was my shot of getting a possible kiss at midnight on New Years Eve and did not want to miss my chance. So we headed up and that’s where it all started. I didn’t actually get my kiss at midnight, but I still got one that night :) Apparently he had always talked about me and was interested in me but neither of us knew! He made the first move that night by stealing my chair that I was sitting in all night and offered me to sit in his lap, and I of course went for it. So a couple months went by and we were talking all the time, but I was 16 years old and still in high school, where he was 19 and in his 2nd year at college. It wasn’t the easiest to actually hang out, but as the weeks went on we tried seeing each other more. When summer came, it was a little easier.
He waited until the whole year passed though to make it “official.” Even though we both knew we weren’t seeing anyone else, he wanted to ask me to be his girlfriend officially a year later at midnight on New Years Eve, at the same place his party was the year before, on the same chair he stole from me before. Even through the struggle of making it work of me being in high school and him away at college, we still wanted to make it work. Fast forward 9 years and we have been through every part of each other’s lives. He attended my senior prom, came to my high school graduation, saw me graduate with my bachelors and then my master’s degrees, helped me move from 5 different apartments in 5 years, and experience all the highs and lows of life. I saw him graduate with his bachelors degree, graduate from the police academy, accept 2 Merit awards as a police officer, and experience everything in between. It’s crazy to think back to our first couple years of dating and him telling me he saw himself marrying me one day, and how it just all seemed so far away. Now we live together in a house that he bought for us, including my baby kitty Midnight, who he has completely taken on as his own, and ready to start planning the wedding!
how they asked
Just about a year ago, Mike signed the papers to purchase our first home. It was right next to the Christmas village in the city, so we planned to go down there and go ice skating to celebrate right after. So this year we planned on doing the same, go down and celebrate the 1 year anniversary of buying the house. It was a perfect day since it had just snowed the day before and it really felt like Christmas time. We had a small lunch when we got there and then did some shopping in the Christmas village. Looking back now, it all makes sense why Mike wasn’t that hungry and kept wanting to get a drink haha So we got in line for ice skating and it was super long, so we decided to skip it and just get one last drink. He said he really liked our picture last year in front of the big Christmas tree so he thought we should get one there again before heading out. As we walked over, I brought up my camera on my phone and was looking for someone to take our picture when he said, “how about these people?” And that’s when I saw his parents taking pictures and video of us and I just knew. He dropped to one knee and I just started crying. When I finally looked at him, he had in his hand the most gorgeous ring I’d ever seen and it made me cry even harder. I didn’t even hear him ask, I’m pretty sure I just blacked out, and I just said YES!
He got up and hugged me and when I turned I saw my mom and dad, and I was so surprised and emotional, I cried even harder. It was everything I could’ve asked for and more. After I finally calmed down and put the ring on my finger, we took pictures and then both our families and us headed over to one of the spots to get a drink. And just when I thought the day was perfect enough, they surprised me AGAIN and said that we had to walk over because a limo was picking us up to bring us home. I was completely shocked and just on cloud 9. My parents already had cold champagne with them and we drank straight from the bottle on the way home in the limo.
We got home and just ordered a bunch of pizzas and drank more champagne. It was everything I could’ve ever asked for and more. I couldn’t of dreamed of anything better. And now I cannot wait to finally marry my best friend! He is truly my high school sweetheart :)
