How We Met
It was August 30, 2010. As a freshman at Indiana University on the first day of class, I never would have guessed that I was about to meet the person I would marry one day. It was Biology 111 in Jordan Hall, room 440 at 4pm. Pat arrived to class first and chose a seat in the middle of the room. Once I arrived there were only a few seats left, and I chose the one right next to him.
We got to know each other in class, always laughing and whispering, sometimes being asked to be quiet by the instructor for being “too chatty” (oops). It was the last class of the day for both of us, so I would walk the “long way” back to my dorm just to spend a few extra minutes with him.
Pat was a perfect gentleman from day one. He is quiet, kind and extremely thoughtful. We quickly became close friends during our first few months at college. Pat later admitted that he knew I was “the one” all those years ago.
Eventually, Pat worked up the courage to ask me to be his date to a fraternity party. More dates, formals and events came and went, and I soon realized that this was the start of something special. We made it official on March 6, 2011 and have been together ever since.
From there, we went through all of college together, growing as a team and becoming positively inseparable. The following years are filled with millions of memories; heart-wrenching IU basketball games, tailgates, trips, holidays with family and many a night spent at our favorite college bar, Kilroy’s on Kirkwood. After graduating, we both were offered jobs in Cincinnati and started the next chapter of our lives together.
Each new experience, celebration, loss and challenge we encountered only strengthened us as a couple. I am grateful every single day to have found someone so passionate and full of love.
how they asked
Last week, Pat and I were in Maine with my family to visit Acadia National Park. We spent the week hiking (one of the many things we love to do together).
August 30, 2016, the sixth anniversary of the day we met, happened to fall during our trip. We both love numbers and dates, and have celebrated the day we met each year since we started dating. The number six is also special to us, as both of our birthdays and our dating anniversary fall on the sixth of the month.
That morning, we woke up early to watch the sun rise from the peak of Cadillac Mountain, one of the first places to see the sun each morning in the United States. Afterward, went out to breakfast with my family then set out on our hike for the day.
Pat chose Great Head trail for our hike that day. Initially, we had planned to do the hike alone but my parents decided to join us at last minute. I, not suspecting a thing, welcomed them to come along.
We hiked with my parents through the woods to the first overlook. We stopped to enjoy the view and snapped a few photos. Pat and I took the long loop and planned to meet up with my parents at Sand Beach afterward.
The trail followed the rocky Maine coast, featuring stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean crashing into a colorful granite cliff face. We climbed down to the edge and sat down for a few minutes to take it all in.
Pat set up our camera to take a photo with the view in the background. Once he had it ready, he asked me to come stand next to him for the picture. He gave me a hug, and quietly said some of the kindest, most precious words I’ve ever heard, then got down on one knee…
I, through many happy tears, said yes! We took some time to snap more photos and enjoy every second of that once-in-a-lifetime moment.
Immediately afterward, we raced down the trail to share the news with my parents. We quickly got back into town to call the rest of our family and close friends. We then got lunch with my parents and promptly popped a bottle of prosecco to celebrate.
Acadia will always hold a special place in our hearts. I can’t imagine a more beautiful setting to have said “yes” to marrying my best friend. We are extremely fortunate to have each other and are excited to spend the rest of forever together!
