After graduating, the “smart” thing for me to do would have been to move home to Cincinnati. My family was there, very few of my friends had stayed in Columbus, and I was going through a difficult time personally… but I felt compelled to stay. Fast forward almost 9 years and it turns out I would have made a huge mistake if I had done the “smart” thing.

Mike and I met that fall, at our first jobs out of school and the connection was almost instant. After casual interactions for a few weeks at work, we spent time together that Halloween… and that was it.

We haven’t spent more than a few days apart since.

But by that point, I had made tentative plans to move back to Cincinnati at the end of my lease and was hesitant to bring it up to Mike. It was so early. We had only been dating for a few months, so I didn't want to pressure things one way or the other. However, I think we both already knew we were end-game.

True to form, I built it up in my head for weeks, nearly making myself sick over it. And Mike, also true to form, was cool, calm and collected the entire time I over-explained through sobs. I shared my plans, asked him what he thought, and without skipping a beat he said 'So, when do we go?" I’ll never forget how he made me feel that day, and every day since.

It’s been almost 9 years and… 2 cities, 3 moves, 1 dog, 5 career moves, 1 pandemic, 4 Vegas trips, 2 to Hawaii, Edisto, Virginia Beach, Scottsdale, Boston, Orlando, Cleveland (the beach!!!), RRG, Asheville, a million trips to Columbus and so much more. We've had tons of laughs and some hard, tough moments but exponentially more amazing ones. Some of my favorites of which are simply being together - whether that's in a new place, trying new food, new experiences or just a quiet night on the couch - laughing, exploring, learning and growing together.

Since day one, Mike has been the sushi roll to my spicy mayo, the avocado to my toast, the pickle juice to my Jameson. Or if you’re normal, he is the calm to my chaos – my perfect balance. And as one of the very best people on this planet, he challenges me to be better every single day, simply by being himself.

In the grand scheme of things, 9 years doesn't seem long, but we've crammed so much life together in that time. It's impossible to imagine what my life would be like without him, but I'm thankful every day that I won't have to find out. From day one, he fit into my life, my family, like a missing puzzle piece, and I'd like to think I've done the same for him.

Perhaps only in this instance, I am beyond grateful to have not done the “smart” thing. Though, in hindsight, you could consider it the smartest thing I could have ever done.

And while there's so much more to our story - past, present and future - we've got to save some of the gushing for the wedding ;)