How We Met
Calvin and I met at our Alma Mater the University of Arizona. I had returned for homecoming with some friends and he was currently attending the school. Calvin and I now have been together for 4 years. He is younger than I am so the first couple of years were difficult with long-distance as he lived in Tucson, AZ finishing school, and me working as a Speech Therapist in Chandler, AZ.
After 2 years of driving every weekend to see each other, Calvin applied to graduate school to fulfill his passion of becoming a Physical Therapist. The pursuit of this dream landed us in small-town Marion, VA. It was extremely tough to leave our family and friends in AZ but this was the next step in our relationship, as we would finally get the chance to move in together. Our first year living together was yet another tough battle; our families both went through many medical hardships and we could only support them from afar. Our relationship only became stronger the longer we lived together.
How They Asked
Calvin and I always talked about the importance of having our families present when we got engaged. Obviously, with COVID-19, those plans seemed to fade further and further away. I am a healthcare worker in an acute care setting and Calvin is around patients during his clinical fieldwork, so we both have been very cautious and stayed at home as much as we could. I tend to ruin surprises and consistently asked my parents if they had sent my late grandmothers’ ring to Calvin as I always hoped one day it would become mine. My parents consistently denied my persistence and I finally gave up thinking it was going to happen anywhere but home in AZ.
The week leading up to December 5th, Calvin made a big deal about safely enjoying a day at one of our favorite places in our adopted home town. Abingdon Vineyards was the perfect place to finally get out of the house for a bit, while still celebrating with social-distancing and being outside.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I asked him to wait for me to put on my jacket after getting outside the car. He told me to leave everything in the car. I was taken aback and became flustered he was rushing me on what was supposed to be a relaxing, fun day. I begrudgingly gave in as he led me hand in hand to an altar overlooking the river.
It had been beautifully decorated with candles and rose petals (I would later discover Calvin’s friends had been in on this and helped him plan everything). When we got to the altar I had an idea and actually asked him “Are we really doing this?!” He made an entire speech yet I cannot recall anything he said because I was crying and shaking too much! I even forgot to say yes! As someone who tends to ruin surprises, I was completely shocked and overjoyed. I’m thankful our engagement was small and personal to us. Moving across the country together was hard, but it led us to where we are today. We’re still not sure when we can travel home, but we both cannot wait to celebrate with our families when it’s safe.
