"Love you, be safe driving to the lake with your family" "Love you too, call me after you get done with fieldwork."

It was just another Friday at the outpatient OT/ST pediatric clinic followed by the typical head to Panera for a few hours to drink endless coffee refills while completing evaluation write-ups, reassessments, and intervention plans for the upcoming week. The girl was on her second cup of coffee when the boy texted her saying that his family was about halfway to the lake. He told her that he wished she could have come. A couple coffee refills later, the girl gathered her notebooks and tablet and rushed to her car to drive back to her apartment. She felt satisfied at her productivity and was excited to relax and go out to dinner with her friend Anna and her family. The girl opted to change out of her work clothes and last minute decided to take her hair down from her messy bun in an attempt to look somewhat nice since Anna's sister Jesse would surely be dressed up. Jesse texted the girl saying that her mom and her were outside. The girl got in the car and the three of them drove toward the USA bookstore to pick up Anna from work (or so she thought).

They drove past the Moulton Tower and entered the bookstore parking lot. The mom and daughter began laughing and talking about how they needed to turn around to get something. The girl was slumped down in the backseat not paying attention and wasn't really concerned. They started to talk about sunflowers, but the girl still was kind of in her own world. Finally, it wasn't until Mrs. Puckett parked the car in front of the Moulton Tower and Jesse said, "Shannen, LOOK there is a sunflower" that the girl started to wonder what was going on. Probably due to a combination of being tired and just truly not expecting that night to be "the night", she still didn't get out of the car until Mrs. Puckett said something along the lines of "Shannen you should go get that sunflower". Puzzled, the girl picked up her favorite flower from the bench and then froze. The next few moments were a blur. She immediately had a flashback to him telling her that he loved her while seated on that bench.

...

[The two goals I had throughout planning my proposal to Shannen were to make her feel special and two to for once in my life surprise her! For all of our dating days, I never could fully surprise her- she guessed her birthday and Christmas gifts without even a hint. Therefore, I knew I would need the help from a lot of people to give myself a cover. As far as the ring, I knew the style I wanted for Shannen for quite a long time. At around six months of dating Shannen and I spent some time in New Orleans to watch the Pelicans play and afterwards we ended up looking at beautiful antique engagement rings. This was the only time we went ring shopping and I am pretty sure she was more shocked than I was to be trying them on. Nevertheless, in order to make the proposal run smoothly, my parents, Shannen's parents, and our friend Anna Puckett devised a plan that was very involved but had everything needed to make the day memorable. I always knew I wanted to have this special moment at Moulton Tower where I first told her I loved her which just so happened to be next to the track she competed at throughout her college career. Anyone who knows Shannen knows her infatuation with sunflowers runs deep so there was bound to be sunflowers everywhere. Besides sunflowers, Shannen loves pictures so with the help of her mom I created a picture runner of our favorite memories. I also incorporated burlap and mason jars because she really likes those, too. Given all of this I planted the seeds for an alibi of my family having a lake weekend, made sure her ring was as special and unique as she deserved, and got every sunflower in the city of Mobile.

When the day finally came I can honestly say I was very excited and nervous only for the fact that I wanted to actually surprise her! I had both families make sure they were nowhere close to anywhere Shannen could wind up which means coffee shops. Coffee drinking machine… Anyway, as I showed up to the Bell Tower to set everything up I was overwhelmed by the fact I had thought about this day off and on for over a year. I was grateful that I had found the young lady I had always dreamed of finding to be my wife. As both families showed up and Anna plotted her photo angles it truly began to sink in today was the day. Around 6 PM as the heat of the day finally faded I got in place for Anna to casually bring her by the Bell Tower. I can honestly say the moments before she came running down the concourse were some of the most peaceful and exciting moments of my life. I can also say when she first saw me she was surprised by something I had done for the first time. She stood there stunned till I waved her down the concourse. Literally, it took her an entire minute to react- she was that shocked. She was overwhelmed and shaky for sure. When she stopped shaking as much, I simply told her, "all of this is for you and I want you to forever be my person". My heart was beating pretty fast and I may have accidentally attempted to put the ring on the wrong hand but this moment couldn't have been better. After a few moments, our parents who were hiding behind the bell tower came and congratulated us.]

…

The girl looked up and saw more sunflowers and then she saw the boy. She snapped out of her trance and ran down the concourse to the boy in the sunflower bowtie. There were sunflowers, mason jars wrapped in burlap, and pictures of the two of them in the background. Time was frozen for a second and she didn't comprehend what he said until he slid the loveliest ring on her finger. She nodded her head yes, of course, and they embraced. Anna was off to the side narrating the story through her photographs for years to come. Both the girl and the boy's parents out of nowhere ran to congratulate the newly engaged couple. After spending some time taking pictures, they all headed to Mirko's for dinner, champagne, and the beginning of their new chapter.

This is where their Forever Jammen story unfolds.

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