We met at Drive Custom Fit back in 2016 when I was home from winter break from Worcester State University. My mom told me there was this cute guy I had to meet at the gym, which made excited! During our conversation, she had asked him what grade he was in, in which Marcus responded, "I am a junior!" In my head, I thought this was perfect, I was a sophomore in college. When she had asked him what school he went to, he said "Salem High!" I was in the background shaking my head to signal to her to stop! I then carried on with my life, wondering how this kid looked like he was 30!

Fast forward 4 years, I started going to Drive consistently after graduating. I started seeing Marcus again in class. I even often changed my schedule to take classes at the same time as him. After multiple attempts of trying to talk to him, he wouldn't budge. Until one day, before class, he had sent me a message, and I got all excited to see him later that night in the class. He never showed up! Turns out, he waited until he was taking a 6 week gym break as he recovered from surgery to talk to me. We started talking all the time, he asked me to go for coffee, then suggested we skip coffee and grab dinner. I told him that was a smooth move considering all restaurants were closing the next day. Covid was now in the picture, meaning we had no real opportunity to go on a first date. We were able to get creative and decided to meet in the empty mall parking lot and say hello to each other through the window of our cars. After our first meeting, we did not go a day without seeing each other.

The creativity didn't stop, John Krasinski from the Office hosted a virtual prom and Marcus and I attended as dates! This was Marcus's first prom!

We spent a lot of time in that mall parking lot, packing every lawn game we could find from our houses along with lawn chairs, scooters and even a long board. We played so many games, had so many laughs, and even made a lot of dancing videos. We also went on countless walks, our longest being 26 miles, walking the rail trail from Salem to Derry and back. We really got to know each other and fall in love with out a single hug, kiss or holding hands. We were respecting our families and social distancing while we patiently waited for my niece, Marlee to be born.

My sister and her family stayed in their own bubbled two weeks before her due date to eliminate the risk of getting sick before entering the hospital. Marcus and I could finally share a giant hug as he asked me to be his girlfriend on May 30, 2020. We waited about 4 weeks until we were able to meet the little stinker that we had kept our distance for.

Over the next three years we spent a lot of time out doors, hiking, four wheeling, snowmobiling, and at patriots games. We both celebrated major life accomplishments, Marcus passed his EMT certification test and became a firefighter on Hampstead Fire Department. I started at career as a special education teacher and earned my Master's Degree in Special Education. We celebrated with many as they turned another year older, got married and had babies. We built a strong foundation as a team and have continued to work together to create the best life possible.

Marcus was adamant about going hiking on a rainy day in July at our favorite spot, Mount Lafayette in the White Mountains. As we hiked and the rain picked up to the point of a tornado warning, we decided to turn around and head back to the car. Before we had left we stopped and admired the waterfall. Marcus then came storming over screaming that it was my lucky day. Utterly confused while standing on a rock in the middle of running water, Marcus made his way over, got on one knee in 2 feet of water and asked me to marry him. Without hesitation, I said, YES! We headed home eager to tell everyone the good news. As we arrived at our weekly Sunday dinner at Marcus's house, I was surprised to see both of our families together to celebrate the two of us and our new chapter in life.

In August of 2023, we went on a cruise in Europe with our moms! We had the best time exploring around visiting Italy, Croatia, Greece and Turkey! We were blessed with the gift of having our engagement pictures taken in Venice!

On May 30, 2025 we will be surrounded by our loved ones not only committing to each other for life, but joining two amazing families together! We are so excited to celebrate with you all!