It all began with a knock at the front door...

Ok, so there was a little before that, but not in regard to how Matt and I actually started dating, so I'm skipping it.

It was my annual Halloween party, 2022. It was a great turnout that year, awesome costumes by everyone, and I thought everyone was already there having the best night of their entire lives (obvi). I was in the kitchen doing my hostess-with-the-mostest thing when someone knocks on the door... awkward! If you know me at all, you know that my house has an open door policy, so please don't knock, don't ring the doorbell, just come on in, especially for the Halloween party! Everyone kind of stops what they're doing and looks at me as if nobody knows how to answer a door, and because I was busy, I just shrugged my shoulders and asked someone to get it! And in walks Matt. Dressed in a flight suit and aviators, mustache and all (the new Top Gun movie had just come out). Now, I was dressed as cupid that year, and yes I see the irony, but I had just sworn off dating after a long run of failed attempts (I was exhausted. Dating is rough, y'all), and ya girl was adamant. "I'm not dating right now," she said, over and over. (Famous last words.)

We started hanging out just as friends that very next day, and texted often, but I was still not interested in dating, which I told him on SEVERAL occasions. (I guess persistence and patience paid off for him!) My friends kept quiet about what they saw happening, not wanting to spook me and just letting me come to it on my own, and eventually, about a month/month and a half later, I finally admitted it to myself that I LIKED THIS MAN. So one night, Matt was coming over and I decided I was going to spill my guts, and the rest is history! The first "I love you" from him came on March 11, and I said it for the first time on April 15 (I love to keep him on his toes). He asked me to marry him October 22, knocking on the front door like he did on Halloween, dressed in his flight suit and aviators, and asking me the easiest question I've ever had to answer. It was a hell yeah from me! (Not literally, of course, I kind of cry/laugh/whispered "yeah" but in my heart it was a loud HELL YEAH!) And I can't wait to live the rest of my life loving him.

A&M