As our relationship progressed, it was crystal clear to both of us that we both had the same thing in mind. That was never in question. The question was "when, where and how?" First, the ring. I looked and looked and looked some more trying to find the right ring. I had an idea of what I wanted to give to Molly, but finding the perfect ring was daunting. Shortly after seeing An Irish Christmas in early December, I came across a Celtic ring with an infinity symbol (matching art on Molly's wrist). Right ring, wrong size, but I decided we could address the size issue after the fact. Next, I wanted to come up with the right time. I wanted this to be perfect for both of us. We were planning to see It's a Wonderful Life on Dec. 15. Perfect! I had it all planned out. The night before, we had all four of my kids at my place to make gingerbread houses. I had spoken to each one of them individually to let them know my plan and get their blessings. As we were winding down, Molly casually mentioned that my elder son mentioned some sort of Christmas gift surprise that he was excited for. With the beans nearly spilled, it was time for Plan B - which I made up on the fly. I grabbed the ring from its hiding place among my socks and stuck it in my pocket. I would often say to Molly, "Can I keep you?" She would always smile and tell me "yes." As we were getting ready for bed that night, I walked over to her, gave her a hug and asked, "Can I keep you?" She said "yes" as usual. Then I dropped to one knee and asked "Even if I mean it for real this time?" as I slid the oversized symbol of my love and commitment on her finger. Well, we're here, so I figure you know what her answer was.

We found each other like so many others do in this day and age - online. We didn't meet right away though, We messaged each other for awhile, building a rapport and getting to know each other. It was pretty clear something good was brewing. On Friday, Oct. 5, one of James' co-workers brought a pan of fresh (and still warm!) apple crisp to the office. James innocently (or maybe it was more calculating - he'll never tell) sent a photo of his plate to Molly. She remarked that she would like some, so James said he would bring her a serving. Minutes later, he was on the road from Kalona to Marion (Molly's office) with a dish of fresh apple crisp. He arrived shortly after 2 p.m. (after having picked up a dish of ice cream from a nearby Dairy Queen). We visited in Molly's office for nearly two hours, with both of us realizing how seamless and natural our conversations could and would flow. We were ready to move planets to keep this going. As it turned out, the planets moved for us. We will always be indebted to The News sports editor Nick Moffitt for having the foresight to make and bring fresh apple crisp to the office that fateful Friday.