Matt and I were both working 50+ hours a week. We each wanted to meet someone, but did not have the time or energy to go to bars and play silly games. I reached out to him (on a dating site) because 1) I liked his beard and 2) he was one of the few men without a picture holding a fish. Jokes on me! For those that do not know, one of Matt’s many passions is fishing. Not just any type of fishing either, he is a surfcaster. What is this you may ask? Well I did too. This became my “smooth” opening line to him, “So, what’s a surfcaster anyway?” Thus beginning our story. Matt and I had been talking online and decided to meet for a drink. We ended up hanging out for over four hours talking. It was easy from the beginning and conversation flowed naturally. Neither one us wanted to call it quits for the night, but we eventually did. He walked me to my car and said, “I won’t try to steal a kiss on our first date, but you are too cute to not try to get a hug from.” He was a perfect gentleman and it was a relief! We knew we had each struck gold. We are opposite in many ways but, believe we bring out the best in one another and are stronger together. surf·cast·ing (sûrf′kăs′tĭng) n. The activity of fishing from shore, especially by casting one's line into the surf. Matt’s favorite quote: “Boat fish don’t count!”

Adrienne and I were together for 2.5 years when she began teasing me about proposing to her. She made the mistake of telling me how long it took Dave to propse to Val, 9 years. Man did I have fun with that! I'd say, “You only have 6 more years to go!” This was funnier to me than it was to her, trust me! In April of 2019, we packed the truck and drove to North Carolina (OBX) to meet her family for vacation. The ride down was painfully long. I listened to hours of her singing, changing lyrics to every song imaginable to how "I will never get down on one knee, I'll never propose or I won’t save for a ring." She did this from say, NJ to VA ... only because she slept while driving through CT and NY! What she did not know, was that her ring was in the center console her arm was resting on! I was hanging onto my sanity and was minutes away from pulling over and handing her the ring and saying here, happy now!? But I didn’t... I deserved the teasing after promising her that I wouldn’t buy more truck parts until I bought her ring. I already had the ring and would often go out of my way to let her know I had new parts for my truck, I’d even ask her to help me carry parts into the house. She was not amused. I, on the other hand, thought it was hilarious. The day we arrived in OBX I decided not to make her wait any longer. We had an amazing day together on the beach with the dogs. After dinner with her family, I asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. I proposed to Adrie at sunset on the boardwalk to the beach house with wild horses in the backdrop. I knealt down, professed my love and asked her to marry me. She looked at me and said, “No! Yes!!! But no, you made me wait so long!” We laughed together and I said, “now what will you bust my chops about?” Smiling at me she said, “dont worry, I’ll find something!” There is never a dull moment with Adrienne around! The best decision I've ever made was asking her to marry me. I can't wait to see what our future holds!