I’ve re-written this several times and each time I just don’t seem to really capture the essence that is Ben. I’ll try, but just know that however amazing he comes off from this, he is easily 10x more caring and sweet and loving than that. I might be biased though….

Ben and I met online and during a pandemic - we have always followed our own path on our relationship. I think it was by date three that we both realized we would take a homemade picnic over a fancy dinner every time. So, we started exploring many of Cook and Lake County’s finest forest preserves as our dates. We started cooking meals together, trying to figure out the crossover of vegetarian and paleo (which is a lot more than you’d think). We watched movies (everyone knows Air Bud is the perfect first kiss movie!), we started learning about each other's sports and hobbies, we started talking about everything under the sun and just never really stopped.

We lived about 20 miles apart, so we had to make an actual effort to see each other, but a blessing in disguise of this pandemic is that we could take one or two days each week and work from each other’s home so we’d get a mid-week visit! Weekends quickly turned into picking who is driving where each day so we can maximize our time together. There were a few times that we had to have virtual dates (thanks, COVID). Ben found these “would you rather” books and we would spend hours on zoom going through questions and getting lost in the answers.

Ben and I took a few vacations together – this is when I was really thinking this could be my person because if we could spend 5+ straight days just the two of us driving miles and miles, almost getting lost on the side of a mountain, and not want the weekend to end …. Well than that might be real love. In December we found ourselves with some time to drive West and visit Ben’s Dad so we packed up for a 10 day road trip. Now this is the part when Ben’s sneakiness comes out to play. At some point on the drive there was a conversation about wedding rings or engagements (this was at the point that we both knew we’d be together forever it was just making it official). I made a face that Ben could instantly read and he responded “I didn’t buy you a ring so….” So that was that and he wasn’t going to propose on this trip, fine by me as I had no expectations, ready for a fun trip regardless. Now, you all know that this story ends with Ben and I hiking up a mountain and him proposing and my answer of yes. The best part of this is that Ben did not lie – the ring was his Grandma’s so he didn’t buy a ring! All of this to say, Ben is very honest and very clever!

Saying “yes” that day to Ben was very easy – we’ve talked about our future plans and were on the same page on what we want in life and what our values are. Ben has grown from wonderful to tremendous and has my entire heart for ever and ever. I cannot wait to walk this life with him and continue to learn and grow together. I know Ben will always challenge me to think outside the box and reach for my goals. I also know, that he will be there in the highs and especially in the lows, just as he has been every day that I’ve known him.

Photos