We’re getting married!

We were both young. In highschool. We had a mutual friend, Jeree, who wanted us to meet because she thought we would hit it off. I am originally from Hazlehurst, and he is from Douglas. Jeree told me this cute guy worked at the bowling alley, so we decided that we would go to Douglas and go bowling. I was this young girl. Super fresh to the dating game. I was just as dorky then, as I am now. He is too. To make this long story short, the texting eventually come to an end and we both were in relationships with someone else. A few years pass by and I’m single again. I eventually go out bowling with a friend from school and guess who’s there? Alex. Guess what else? He was single too! We started talking while I was bowling, that lead to texting, then dating, and now we will be saying “I do” in a few, short months. I was dating this sweet guy who treated me better than I have ever been treated and had someone who loved me unconditionally and made sure that I knew I was loved. He is someone who surprised me with a candlelit picnic under the stars and a slow dance in front of his truck with his headlights shining. He’s someone I feel at home with. He loves me for me, he supports me and that’s all a girl really ever dreams of.

We have both chosen our careers. He went to the Academy and become a police officer and absolutely killed it. He come out with flying colors and he graduated with the “top shot” award out of his whole class. Some time passed by because we were waitinf to get financially stable so I could apply for the nursing program. I applied. I got in. While I was in the program, I prayed daily that I’d get to be on that stage December 14th. It was hard on me. It made me feel like I wasn’t smart enough. I felt like I wasn’t good enough. I broke down many nights and become sleep deprived because I thought studying was more important than sleeping. Through all of my breakdowns, Alex pulled me up every time and told me that I was good enough. I am smart enough. I will graduate. I will be a nurse. December 14th come around. I walked across that stage with a big smile on my face hearing Alex yell “Whooooo go Amber!!!!” over every other person in that auditorium. He is my biggest motivator. That evening, his family threw me a graduation party. They all got me gifts so I was opening them and I finally opened up the last one. Alex then comes up to me sitting in the rocking chair and says, “I have one more gift for you, but I want you to stand up and close your eyes.” So I do. When he tells me to open my eyes, I look and he’s down on one knee asking me to marry him. After ugly tears, (seriously, I hid my face for a few minutes. It was bad) he removed my promise ring he had made for me 3 years ago, and replaced it with this beautiful engagement ring. I get to marry my bestfriend. We decided on August 31st. It’s a very special day. It is my mama’s birthday, which she will be celebrating in heaven. Now, each year when it is our anniversarry, we will get to have that special connection with my mama. She would have loved Alex and I know she’s so proud of the life we have built.