Bailey entered my life during a time of pivotal change and growth. I was 12 years old and my family had just moved to Dallas from south Florida. Everything around me was so new and unfamiliar. I still remember the day that I first saw her in the middle school hallway because I had a blush-y sinking feeling that was unforgettable. It was more the idea of her that entered my life that day, because we wouldn’t actually meet each other for another 10 years.

Fast forward to August 2019 and I see on Bailey’s social media that she had just moved to Austin. Of course, the picture she posted was of her beautiful painting of Jimi Hendrix. I was enamored, so I gathered the courage to message her. “Hey I don’t even know if you know who I am, but we went to high school together.” The next thing I know I’m taking her and her sweet golden retreiver, Buddy, to a dog park date where we find out how much we have in common with each other. I fell in love, but if we’re really being honest I fell in love with her 10 years before that day.

The next years of our lives were filled with traveling, concerts, great food and new experiences in our 20’s. It was always so easy to be by her side, as it is to this day. We built a core family together here in Austin with our cats, Gypsy and Jasper. I’m so excited to see her grow as a person over the course of her life, in her career, into motherhood, whatever may come. I’ll stand by her side with a warm grin on my face for the rest of my life.