Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, a story between a boy and a girl was unfolding without each other’s knowledge. Our story started 27 years ago at Cedar Cliff High School. I was a sophomore and Amy was a freshman. I played football and wrestled and remember seeing her at those events since she was a cheerleader. I always thought she was a very beautiful girl but never had the courage to really talk to her. I remember, during my junior year, telling a mutual friend that I had a crush on Amy but to not tell her (I know… very juvenile of me at that time!). That friend honored my request and never told my secret. After high school, life took us both in different directions.

In 2023, things changed, and it all started over a sunrise picture I posted on Facebook that Amy left a comment on. That lead to a nice conversation that never stopped. We connected and built chemistry like I have never seen in my personal experience before. It was amazing in my eyes. What amazed me the most is that we are so different in so many ways, but we respect each other’s differences so easily. That is very uncommon in today’s world.

Now, for all y’all that know Amy… talking on the phone is something she despises, but she was able to do so with me. First, it started with simple Marco Polos (a video texting app). Then came the phone calls and FaceTime calls that would go on for hours. There wasn’t a day we did not talk.

With her living in Pennsylvania and me in South Carolina, we knew a long-distance relationship would be very hard and it would take a significant amount of effort and time. We rotated monthly on who would do the travelling. During that time, we introduced each other to the other’s family.

For me, it was amazing how easy that was. It was like the other belonged with that family all along. Seeing how my kids were with Amy was truly beautiful, especially how my daughter warmed up to Amy so easily and quickly. Devynn was so comfortable with Amy that she laid on Amy’s lap while at my retirement practice and fell asleep. That validated to me that what we were doing was a great thing. I had asked God to give me signs that I was making the right choice. He showed me time and time again that we were meant to be together, and I cannot thank him enough for bringing Amy, Aly and her family into my life.

I have wondered many times, “Why now? Why not 25 to 27 years ago?” I believe God’s answer is simple. Amy and I had a lot of growing to do to be ready for the other. Everything we endured and people that came and left (and stayed) in our lives all taught us lessons that shaped us and made us who we are today. Also, if we had been together since high school, we would not have Jaxson, Colby, Aly or Devynn the way they are today and they are true blessings.

The more I think about it, I wouldn’t change a thing because I love our story. I love how I now have my best friend beside me. I love sharing life with her, both good and bad. I love our life’s adventures. I love the family we are building and the sacrifices that both parties are making for the other. I am not used to that in a relationship and it’s truly amazing and speaks a lot to Amy’s character. I am marrying my best friend, the love of my life and my missing half and I can’t wait!

I knew Dave in high school, in a general sense: he played football, I was a cheerleader. We had lots of mutual friends. He was absolutely the underrated hot guy! I definitely noticed him, but despite him being in my general orbit, I never saw anything with him as a possibility. Blame teenage lack of self esteem!

Fast forward a few decades later, and we became friends on Facebook. This wasn't unusual, as it's a great way to connect with people from your past and present. We exchanged pleasantries on photo comments every now and then, as acquaintances do. He always had a nice thing to say or a compliment, and I always said "thank you!" and thought to myself "what a nice person." Dave tells me now that he was absolutely trying to get my attention... and it went right over my head.

Finally, in January of 2023, another comment on a photo (me commenting on his photo of a sunrise) finally turned into an actual conversation... that is still continuing today. He is the first person I speak to in the morning and the last before I go to bed. There is nothing that he doesn't know about me or my day or what goes on in my mind.

We met for our first date in Wilmington NC in March 2023 after hundreds of hours of talking. It was the perfect first date: comfortable, easy, low-stress and lots of laughing. We decided then to tackle long distance dating until we could figure out what the next step was. We had a lot of big, important conversations early on: where would we live, would we get married, did we want more kids, how do we do long distance? We've both lived a lot of life, very differently and agreed that open communication about end goals was important to both of us.

We moved forward, making sure we saw each other once a month at minimum and taking turns doing the traveling. Lots of FaceTime calls, random texts, cheap Southwest flights and patience has made it work. We got to know each others' kids and parenting styles. We learned we can both cook and actually (playfully) argue about who actually gets to cook, rather than who has to cook. From the silly to the deep and important, figuring each other out has not always been easy, but it's always been fun. Appreciating each other's different perspectives on the world is one of our strengths.

On October 14, 2023, almost 7 months after our first date, Dave proposed and it was the easiest yes of my life. Despite knowing "it" was coming, he still managed to make it a private, intimate surprise. It was so special and absolutely perfect. That is elite level, to me!

Now, we get to plan a day for you all to join us in celebrating what has made us so happy this last year. So excited to see you all.