Grace and I met during our sophomore year of high school, we were both in the same friend group but had never really talked. However, that all changed one day during lunch when I had eaten an orange whole, including the peel. After this, I had gotten her number so “ I could get the video,” knowing dang well what I was doing. That is when our friendship began, I remember our Junior year I would be in Anatomy and Physiology, and she was in a classroom down the hallway. I would always walk slow so I could meet her in the hallway and talk. Around this time would be the first time we hung out (she made sure to specify it was not a date), we watched the newest Toy Story movie, and after we got food at Canes.

The next chapter of our life comes on November 26th, 2019, this is the day we officially started dating. Our first date as a couple would be to Taco Bell, the school musical, and after we went bowling. This was the start of what you see today.

Shortly after we started dating, COVID-19 happened, schools shut down, and we couldn’t see each other for quite some time. This is when Grace got me into running, and every morning we would go and run so we could have something to do. Many times a week, we would get protein shakes and drink them in the car while we listened to music.

This is also the time that Grace really started introducing me to the church; we would run and attend daily Mass frequently. Our senior year of high school was just one very long summer due to COVID-19. We would wake up at the early morning hours to go to Adoration together at our church, walk dogs, watch Netflix, eat at our favorite restaurant, and just be with each other. Eventually, I had joined the Church, and she was there with me at every single RCIA meeting, even though she was not my sponsor.

Shortly after this happened, we began college, which is what made our relationship blossom. Of the five years we have been together, a large majority of it has been spent separated. Once we got past the freshman year of college, I knew this was who I wanted to marry. At the end of our sophomore year, she looked at me and said, “you can propose anytime after this summer if you'd like," and I took that to heart. As soon as we went back to school, I came back home to ask her parents blessing, and a short few weeks later, I bought her ring. I tried several times to propose, but in classic fashion it didn’t work out right. That was until I convinced her on December 19th, 2023, that our youth group was coming back together for a reunion. She ended up believing me, and we walked into the church where we both were baptized in and I got down and asked her to marry me. Most of our major life events have happened at the foot of the Cross, both of us baptized there, engaged there, and now we will be married there. At the time of writing this, Grace is almost a week away from graduation, and I could not be more proud of the woman she has become. I am excited to finally have my girl back for good this time.

Grace, you mean the absolute world to me, and I cannot wait to grow old with you. I am proud of who you have become, I am proud of the friends you have made, the fiancé you are, the wife you will soon be, and the mother you will be. I will forever thank God I have you, and I hope to be as strong as you one day. I love you.