When I first met Kaman, he was the paraprofessional for my second year at Carl Bruce Elementary. I have to admit; at first I had no idea what to think of him. Here is a homeschooled kid with no special education experience and first time in the classroom coming into my room, which to say the least, was not for beginners.

Kaman was quiet and reserved. Initially, I thought maybe he was some sort of religiously devout Mormon; and him coming into a room with the kiddos I have, and the teacher being outwardly gay (and at that time, in a relationship with a woman), might have scared him off. He came dressed with his button up tucked into his slacks, didn't quite understand how to use the right emojis, and was overall very quiet about his home life. Honestly, I was curious to see if he would make it through the first week!

Incredibly, Kaman jumped into the role head first; his perseverance and dedication evident from day one. He was a natural with the students, and showed how much he cared about his work and those he worked with. Needless to say, he became close to my heart very fast.

The more I learned about Kaman, the more I fell in love. He gave me the confidence I needed to realize my self worth and recognize what I really deserved and wanted out of life. I moved forward and healed from a traumatic relationship, and decided to finally put myself first. In the end, I realized the type of love I wanted out of life fit perfectly with him. It felt right from day one.

Naturally, I started spending more and more time with him outside of work. Painting in the park, museums, movie nights; anything to get to know him better. In fact, there were a couple of times when online dates fell through for him, and I swooped in to fill the role secretly excited that the plans had failed.

We started dating around late October, really being transparent about it by his birthday party in early November. The support was overwhelming, and although we were nervous about the possible work conflict if anything had gone wrong, I knew personally that was a risk I was willing to take. Obviously, things went great. We moved in together that summer as his lease with his roommate was running out. We adopted 2 dogs - Goose and Millard - and really began our journey together.

One thing to know about Kaman is he is calculated and wise. He doesn't do things without the proper thought put into it, and he values the idea that good things come in due time. He waited exactly one month before he told me he loved me, and because of this, I expected a marriage to be far in the future! Thank goodness I didn't have to wait too long; because on February 17th, 2024 I said yes to spending the rest of my life with the man I love.

Q + A

What is the dress code?