Our story is unique. We met in preschool, but our earliest memories really begin around fifth grade. In the seventh grade, I told my mom I wanted to marry him after watching him play football. Not that this is big news to anyone reading this, but l am notorious for saying exactly what I mean.

Flash forward to the icky high school years. We were great as friends but that certainly didn't keep us from attempting to date… a half dozen times. We never claimed to be smart kids! It never worked out but we remained civil because we were coworkers. He was technically my “boss”, and because he was not very nice to me through our dating life, he let me do whatever I wanted at work. It was great. Well, I figured out this worked outside of work too! He asked to walk with me for Homecoming Court, and he told me I could pick whatever song to do for the Lip Sync Battle. We ended up winning with Taylor Swifts ‘We Are Never Getting Back Together’…. Yeah, the irony. He was super awkward around me until we graduated. We graduated and went our separate ways, assuming to probably never see each other again.

Thank God for parking tickets! Jonathan got a parking ticket his senior year at Pitt State around the same time I got a big fat speeding ticket. He posted it on his Snapchat, so I replied and said we could switch. From that day on, we never stopped talking. A few days later, he came to visit me in Springfield, while I was having a girls night. He ended up getting snowed in and stayed for the weekend. He always says he only came to visit to make sure I forgave him for everything that happened in high school and here we are! A few weekends later, we went on our first official date. Where to, you may ask? Sonic. We went to Sonic. If you ask him how it went, he will say it was the best burger he’s ever had.

Jonathan is my best friend and while I don’t know why I thought so many years ago I would marry him, I know why I’m making the decision to marry him now. Every day I’m with him, no matter where we are, it feels like home. That’s why we annoy our family and friends with moving so much (thank you!), because it’s not the place. It’s the person. Together, we are home.

One of my favorite parts of our relationship, is that we genuinely enjoy each other’s company. We love going to concerts together, trying new places to eat, going on walks or bike rides, and taking road trips. We always have fun and try to make the best of whatever situation we may be in. We work well as a team, and I can’t wait to see how the next chapter plays out