My earliest memory of Aidan was not much of a thought or phrase, it was of her image. I can remember glimpses of us moving to cda from california and snippets from there, but one thing that was burned into my memory, was Aidan. We grew up in a small community, going to middle school and high school together. I would always see her in passing, instantly recognizing her when our paths crossed. A couple years went by and then I decided I should test my luck. From the first day I sat down with her, I knew that she was indescribable. our chemistries instantly combined. I felt a bond with her that i never knew existed. We carried this feeling into her coming to visit me when i was living in moscow and her in boise. She would sacrifice so much just to see me so little. I never thought that someone could give so much time and effort for me. I was hooked. We continued to blossom our beautiful relationship, from myself finishing college in moscow, to taking a gap year working at the hospital during the pandemic, to flourishing in a beautiful home we share now. I cannot depict my life without her, nor did I ever think this love was capable. When my time comes, do not talk about my accomplishments on the football field, nor talk about my knowledge of medicine, tuck a picture of her in my pocket so I can tell everyone in heaven who made me a better man.

Noah and I were on a cruise to the Bahamas with his family when he proposed on the second day of our trip at the beach. To say I was clueless is an understatement- as I was trying to talk Noah into swimming with pigs, get a tan, and testing the water temperature, him and his parents were trying to figure out how the heck to get me out of the water so he could propose. They ended up successful under the guise of going to a less crowded area of the beach for a nice family picture. After a walk down the beach where Noah was incredibly nervous and I was fully oblivious, he pointed out that there were dolphins in the water. As I looked around (not thinking about how it’s not feasible that dolphins would be in water that’s maybe 1-2 feet deep for yards and yards out) he dropped down on one knee and told me to turn around. Pure excitement and gratitude was all I could think of as he and I were both crying, but I of course ended up saying yes! An answer I knew I’d have since Noah mentioned he could see us getting married five years earlier. It was truly the perfect day, and the best part was his ability to surprise me. Not only with the perfect ring of my dreams, but a proposal that truly swept me off my feet. Noah has always had a knack for making me feel like the most loved & special girl in the world. Learning afterwards the effort he put in to plan and coordinate everything, design the ring with his sister, and make sure it was a day we’d love and remember reminded me, yet again, just how lucky I am to get to call him my future husband.