When We First Met

Me and Nate met in 7th grade drafting class. We would pass each other cute little notes from across the room. We dated for a month but then decided to just be friends.

Dating - Part One

Both me and Nate had other relationships throughout the years. It wasn't until the beginning of 10th grade that me and Nate reconnected. Nate would use his class bathroom breaks to visit me during my lunch hour. We exchanged playful banter and it became clear that there was something special between us. And then one day, Nate asked me to be his girlfriend. We went to homecomings and prom, celebrated many birthdays, and went on trips with our families. After high school, I moved away to Ann Arbor and long-distance proved to be a challenging obstacle. Despite the distance, we did our best to make it work. But as time passed and life unfolded, the strain of distance caused us to part ways.

Dating - Part Two

In the midst of a global pandemic, Nate found himself quarantining at his cabin. Nate ended up messaging me and asking me to meet for lunch next time I was in town (I had moved to Chicago). This one message turned into days filled with hour long phone calls and weekends filled with 5 hour long road trips. After six months of long distance, we moved into our first apartment together in Michigan. We spent the next year playing darts at the Wagon Wheel, kayaking, taking trips up north, and still enjoying many trips back to Chicago. A year later, we took another leap and decided to buy our first home! The two years following were filled with renovations, bonfires, backyard parties, sky diving adventures, and many many trips.

The Engagement

We were on our third annual trip to Islamorada with my family. I had booked skydiving for Lilly, Nate, and I. It was a 2 hour ride down the keys and my parents came to watch us jump. Our jump time was at 1130 but when we showed up, they were over an hour behind. Nate already had everything planned out so this delay made him a bit anxious. Of course, I was very stubborn and wanted to stay until we jumped. We ended up jumping a couple hours later and headed back to the house. Me and Lilly were getting hangry in the backseat and wanted to just be dropped off at Hog Heaven (the bar we planned on for dinner). However, we had to go back to the house to change and go. I was very adamant on wearing the yoga pants, t-shirt, and headband I had worn jumping. Nate was very adamant that I got ready and changed so we could take nice photos. We fought for a few minutes and he won, resulting in me tearfully straightening my hair while my Dad tried to convince me to have a snack. We eventually made it to the restaurant (about 30 minutes late), got a drink at the bar and walked down to the end of the pier where there was a nice beach area. While taking a photo in front of the ocean, Nathan asked me to marry him. And obviously I said yes! We then had our photos taken by photographer he had hired and then I was able to eat!