It all begins with Matt Danielak and Lucy Coxe (with supporting actor JR Hudgins).

Context:

Matt was one of the first people I met at UGA through my twin brother, Patrick. They were in the same fraternity together, Phi Delta Theta. Later on, I introduced him to his wife, Lucy, our Senior year. ;-)

Lucy was a sorority sister with a girl from my UGA rush group. She introduced us at a Phi Delt tailgate Freshman year. I introduced her to her husband, Matt, our Senior year. ;-)

JR - literally met him the day our story starts.

*Camera pans to Orpheus Brewing, Midtown Atlanta (RIP). Fresh pours in hand. Giant Jenga set up in process.*

Matt, Lucy, JR, and I are enjoying a 2019 summer afternoon at a local brewery near mine and Lucy's apartment complex. Matt casually looks at me and says "you know, you haven't met my best friend. And you know all of my other friends. I think you need to meet him. He's the funniest guy I know and.. you're one of the funniest girls I know. Yeah.. you guys need to meet. And he'll be here next weekend." I immediately knew who he was referring to - his bestie Harry Campbell.

In all transparency, I wasn't looking for a serious relationship at the time. However, I entertained the idea of meeting him all while keeping in mind that Harry was finishing his education in Oxford, Mississippi.

Fast forward to the next weekend: Lucy is on a trip to Washington State with her mom. So it would be just me and Harry with Matt as the bridge. Plan: Midtown Bowl.

They arrive at my apartment and I know if this is a potential love interest, he needs to know I have a dog. And be a dog lover, to boot! So, I strap Ollie in and take him out to greet the boys. It's safe to say Harry was quite the hit with Ollie, and Ollie with Harry.

We bowl. We laugh. We drink pitchers of Miller Lite. The night was a dream. That's until Harry left without asking for my number. I thought "WTF". But I also thought "it's okay, he's not interested. No biggie. Shake it off."

The next morning I kept thinking "I thought it went well, why no digits!?" So, I decide to take matters into my own hands. I text Matt asking if I could have Harry's number. He sends it to me. I text Harry. The rest is history - we haven't stopped talking since!

We quickly realized how many mutual friends we had but somehow, in a weird stroke of destiny, our paths never crossed. He knew my twin brother before he knew me! We had literally been at the same UGA fraternity parties and never met.

After a couple of months, we decided long distance wouldn't be an issue. From the day we started dating until the day he moved back to Atlanta, we saw each other every two weeks. Like clockwork! I won't say every moment was easy but we both knew we wanted to be together. The distance forced us to jump in head first to the hard work of nurturing a firm foundation for our relationship. And it was all worth the wait!

From August 16, 2019 to now, we've grown so much individually and together. Harry became the best adoptive dog dad to Ollie and and helped give him the best last 5 years of his life. We've leaned on each other through triumphs and tragedies. He's been a constant source of happiness, fun, love, and light. I'm my best self with him and he's my biggest cheerleader.

I love you and our story, HMoney! Can't wait for you to be Harrison Nichols Campbell Michaels! ;-)