In May of 2023, I was doing laundry at the local laundromat in when I noticed a tall, strong man who looked to be my age doing laundry a few feet away from me. He was wearing a baby Yoda hat and bright pink Nikes. I remember thinking that despite the gruff look on his face, his garb was giving away his soft side. He sat down at one of the laundry tables and I, waiting on my laundry to dry, sat down in the last available seat right beside him. I thought “it’s going to be awkward sitting here if I don’t talk to this guy” so I said “hey, I like your shoes”. He said “thanks, I like yours too”. I looked down at my shoes and said “thanks, they’re Walmart Arch Support”.

From there, we talked about our tattoos, which led to us discussing our beliefs. I really admired how open Joshua was about his desire to love people who are hard to love because that is what Jesus did. I thought “wow, this guy is for real.”

As I finished folding my laundry and started to leave I said “well I gotta go put this away and go to the gym. Do you have a Snapchat?” And he said “yeah, I do…”Annoyed, I said “are you going to give it to me?” He said “yeah I can” and gave me his username. That evening after the gym I told my friend over the phone about the encounter and expressed that I wanted to ask him out. She said “do it for the plot.” I was feeling adventurous, so I asked Josh if he wanted to go to the lake with me. He said he was hesitant since we’d just met and asked for my full name so he had some background. I sent him the name of my workplace and told him he could find me on the website for credibility.

We met at the park to go to the lake and I told him to get in my car and I would drive us. He agreed, but only if he could bring his gun because “I don’t really trust you aren’t going to murder me out there”. Fair point. I showed him my taser and told him I could say the same about him.

We went to the spillway at the lake, watched the sunset, and shared our stories. Later we watched stars at the park. It was perfect, and when I went home that night I remember thinking “this is going to be a much more significant plot point than I thought.”

May 26th a day of remembrance and reflection, took on a new significance for me the year I met Abigail. It was a day marked by unexpected encounters and profound connections, leaving an indelible mark on my memory.


 I met Abigail, the love of my life, in a place as ordinary as the local laundromat. It was just a regular day of doing laundry when this stunning girl sat down next to me. Ill admit, I was pretty nervous. Id been hoping for a while that Id meet someone special, maybe even my future wife. But Abigail, she surprised me. She was the one who started talking to me first, which hardly ever happens, probably because I often come off as a bit intimidating.


As we folded clothes together, we got talking about our tattoos and the stories behind them. It felt special, sharing these personal things, and I kept hoping shed ask me out. And guess what? She did! We planned to meet later at the lake to catch the sunset. While we were there, we chatted about what we believe in and stuff like that. We had a lot in common, but I could tell she was being cautious, kind of holding back. That’s when I decided I really wanted to go for it and fall in love with her, because something inside me was sure – she was the one.


After leaving the lake, we went back to where we parked my truck, I asked her if she wanted to hang out a little longer because I really wanted a kiss that night, so we laid in the bed of my truck and talked about the night sky among other things too. I really wanted to kiss her, so I asked, and it was honestly great for me. However, later she admitted it wasnt so great. I thought, Well, at least she didnt dump me ha-ha! We said our goodbyes for the night, and I went home. I called my immediate family to share the news that I had finally met the girl who was meant for me, forever. 


Not only are we getting married, but I found someone who brought the colors I was missing.