Take a second to imagine, beautiful paintings and sculptures filling a museum, wine and champagne floating from room to room, music softly playing in the background. Sounds romantic, doesn’t it? What better place to start a love story? Keep reading……….I was new to San Antonio and decided to go to a networking event with a colleague. We were both looking for a reason to get out of the house and meet new people. As I walked in, I immediately began scanning the area to determine the vibe and energy. Within seconds I noticed Jason across the room talking to a group of young professional women, so I decided to politely enter the group and introduce myself. I mean, it was a networking event after all, right?! As I approached the circle everyone kindly began to make room for me to enter the conversation. After several minutes, Jason and I started discussing backgrounds and he shared how he was from The Bronx New York and his family’s Jamaican. Well conveniently enough, in the summer I was going to Jamaica with my best friend and her family. So of course, I had to mention the trip and ask for recommendations. I mean, it IS a networking event after all, right?! Conversation was flowing and connections were being made. He even started telling me ways to get acclimated to the city, organizations to check out and events to attend. Everything’s going great until I hear, “Well, have fun in Jamaica and good luck with the city. It was nice meeting you.” And that was the last I saw of him for the rest of the night. Well little did either of us know we would continue to run into each other for 8 months before FINALLY exchanging numbers and going on our first date in October 2014.

Jason & I usually spent the holiday season apart with our families and came back together after the new year. So, Saturday, Jan 4th, 2020, was no different. Excited to see each other after several weeks apart we decide to go out for a drink and catch up on each other’s trip. While letting the sun set on us we sat outside for hours talking, laughing, drinking, just enjoying each other’s company. I went to bed that night filled with so much love, joy, & appreciation for a new year together. Jason’s usually the lighter sleeper but for some reason I was awakened in the middle of the night around 5am. I rolled over & to my surprise Jason wasn’t there, but I heard a sound coming from across the room. It's Jason, he’s in his closet quietly trying to look for something. Pretending to be asleep, I roll back over, close my eyes & open my ears. Within minutes, I felt him softly lift my left hand, but almost immediately placed it down. I was confused as to what just happened. Why’d he lift my hand? Why’d he put it back down? What’s happening right now?! All while these questions were racing through my mind, he got back in bed & laid down. Very carefully I moved my thumb to feel my fingers & to my surprise, there’s a ring on my finger. I’m losing it, in my head, cause, well, pretending. I immediately sat up, started shaking Jason and yelling “Jason! Jason!” We were all pretenders that night because he slowly wakes up saying “huh? Mom?” Pointing at my finger I tell him, “Jason, I know you’re not sleeping, stop playing, what is this?!” We all know what it was, he knew what it was, I knew what it was! I was just shocked & in disbelief. He gets up & walks to my side of the bed. As he gets down on one knee, he grabs both my hands, looks me in the eyes & tells me what I mean to him, how I’ve impacted his life & finishes with “And I want you to be my wife”. The moment I’d been waiting for was finally here. Without hesitation, I said yes & we embraced each other with a hug and a kiss.