We owe a heartfelt thank you to my longtime friend Alyson Waeltz and her brother Tom Waeltz. For many years Alyson hosted an annual Christmas party at her apartment. In 2012, I had just finished my last day of teaching before winter break and I was exhausted. I decided to visit my parents after school that day. After chatting with my mom for a while, she asked me what I had planned for that evening. I told her that Alyson was having her annual Christmas party, but that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go. My mom said, “Why don’t you go? I know you will have fun and you never know who you will meet.” This was not a typical thing for my mom to say and I didn’t think much about the significance of her statement until much later. I put my Santa hat back on and headed over to the party. While sitting in Alyson’s kitchen and catching up with friends, I noticed her brother Tom come in followed by a friend whom I had never met. I was intrigued by this new friend wearing a glow-in-the-dark, puffy painted, ugly Christmas sweatshirt. I greeted Tom and he introduced me to his friend Jake Kieffer. A while later at the party, Jake approached me in the hallway and we began a conversation. Food was the main topic. We discussed our shared interest in different types of food and discussed our favorite restaurants in Milwaukee, as well as the typical “get to know you” topics. This conversation continued through mingling with different friend groups and different rooms of her apartment until the end of the night. Jake and I exchanged phone numbers and then before leaving the party, I asked Alyson about her thoughts on Jake. Alyson immediately smiled and told me how much she liked Jake and how much she hoped I would see him again.

The holidays came and went and we texted “Happy New Year” to each other on New Year’s Eve. Then, a few days into the new year, Jake asked me out for our first date, set for January 5, 2013. We finalized plans through texting while I was riding the bus home from coaching at the Mt. Horeb gymnastics meet. I met him at the Wicked Hop in the 3rd Ward in Milwaukee. We shared dinner and drinks and have been dating ever since.

On June 25, 2016, Jake suggested that we have a picnic dinner at Lake Park in Milwaukee. We had been talking about doing more picnic dinners and it was a perfect weather day. Jake bought all the dinner fixings and then we packed our bicycle pannier bags along with a blanket and biked over to Lake Park. We found a little nook in the park near the lighthouse and set up our blanket. Jake took out the many dinner courses and opened a bottle of wine. We had a lovely, relaxed time wining and dining and enjoying the beautiful evening. The only thing out of the ordinary that I noticed was that Jake was drinking his wine much faster than normal, but I just assumed he was particularly enjoying this wine. I figured out later that he guzzled the first glasses of wine because it was important that we make it to the second bottle. We finished the first bottle of wine and he suggested that we have dessert. He pulled out a piece of cake and a second bottle of wine to accompany the dessert. The wine was in a brown paper bag and he handed it to me explaining that he thought we should try a new brand. Intrigued (as he knew I would be), I took the bottle out of the bag and read the label. It took me a minute to understand the fancy font of the name on the label, which read, “Each of Each.” For those of you that do not know, that is a phrase that I have said since I was a child. It means some of each. It is typically used as an answer to a questions such as, “Do you want chocolate or vanilla ice cream?” or “Do you want a cookie or a brownie?” My family adopted my phrase and I still use it to help resolve my personal conflicts, such as, “Should I buy the red shirt or the blue shirt?...I’ll buy each of each (meaning, I’ll buy one of each).” Jake learned my phrase early on in dating and loved it. He now uses it often. Upon reading the wine bottle label, I became immediately angry, exclaiming, “Jake! Someone stole my phrase!” He was a bit thrown off by my extreme reaction, so he said, “Oh weird, why don’t you turn it over and read more about it.” I turned it over and read the text, “Each of Each. Two things meant to be together. Two things come together. Two things better together. Two things married together. Will you marry me?” I am not sure why, but I was still confused. I looked up at him and then read it again. Then he asked, “Will you marry me?” I looked up and he had the ring box open. I was stunned and then it all clicked. I excitedly said yes! Then, Jake explained to me his months of preparation that included writing the poem, getting the wine label made, talking to my parents, and getting the beautiful ring made. Best picnic dinner ever!