Jonny and I met at work - Kwik Trip Operations Support - in April of 2020, and really didn't interact terribly often for the first year. However, in 2021 we were seated across from each other, our desks still separated by a clear window of plexiglass due to COVID restrictions. I always had questions at work and Jon seemed to know most of the answers, so I'd get his attention by knocking on the plexiglass. The charmer that he is, he'd snap his fingers and point at my monitor in hopes that I'd figure it out myself and get back to work. His request was usually denied. When knocking on the plexiglass no longer did the trick, I started passing folded post-it notes through the gap underneath it. Though these notes began with a two syllable insult, they soon turned into compliments like "you have pretty eyes". I enjoyed the way he tore them up and threw them immediately into the trash. My flirtations quickly turned into quite the crush. We started talking more and more, and I'd find excuses to get our coworkers together for bowling or bonfires just so I could see him outside of work. I started falling in love, and he thought I was messing with him. Eventually he figured it out.

Jonny and I knew very early on that we were in it for the long haul. In fact, before we let anyone know we were dating, I had joked with my coworkers that he kept denying my marriage proposals. He played it off like he'd never even look in my direction and he gave them all a disgusted look, while my phone lit up with a message that said, "I'd marry you in a heartbeat". In the fall of 2023, Jonny and I took a road trip to South Carolina and Tennessee. We wanted to celebrate our second anniversary, and we had a great time on a road trip out west the previous year. Neither of us had ever seen the ocean, and it was a wonderful thing to experience together. After a long and stressful day of driving, we were both relieved to finally relax at the sounds of the waves. I collected some shells, got too excited when I found more and crushed them all in my pocket, so I had to start over. I was a little apprehensive that he might ask me on the beach that evening, but thankfully our telepathy had us on the same page - too many people. It didn't help that I kept running away to find more cool shells. After a few days we made it to the Sevierville area in Tennessee. Now, Jon is a smart man. He can pick up on a hint, not that I make a habit of dropping them by any means. We rented an Airbnb in the mountains with a beautiful (romantic) mountain view from the balcony, not to mention the hot tub - and let me tell you, the number of times I mentioned how excited I was for that romantic sunset over the mountains... He got the hint. I was tidying up inside the cabin after purchasing an excessive number of souvenirs, and Jon poured us each a glass of black cherry whiskey and Dr. Pepper. He went out to the balcony and had to poke his head in 3 times to ask me if I was going to come out soon. I finished tidying up and joined him on the balcony as the fog started to settle on the mountains. He asked me if I was having a good trip so far, and I let him know that it was awesome. I asked him if there was anything else he wanted to do before leaving TN the next day, and he said, "Yeah, there's one more thing" as he got down on one knee. At that point we were both so nervous that I barely remember hearing his question and he swears he blacked out when he asked, but it was a definite YES.