Good things are worth the wait...

We met in the fall of 2012 in Hamlin Hall at Oakland University, 3 North to be exact! Our paths kept crossing due to mutual friends and interests, and between the late night meals and IM sports, a connection was sparked and we have been together ever since.

On Saturday, November 3rd of 2018, we woke up to drive to Dow Gardens in Midland, MI. In order to commemorate the 6 years we had spent together, I wrote 6 letters, all corresponding to a year we had been dating. Additionally, I had a picture printed of every year with the exception of 2018. Once we arrived, we made our way to the botanical gardens. We walked around for about a half hour before stumbling upon a natural maze, and I knew this was the perfect moment. We raced to the middle ( I won, of course), and after some back and forth, I gave her the first letter. As she finished it I slowly led her out of the maze to a bright red bridge on a pond and gave her the 2nd letter. As she was finishing up I made my way across the bridge, and to a bench on the left up a small hill overlooking the pond. As she sat down, I gave her the 3rd letter. Each letter reflected on our accomplishments and our growth as a couple, and each picture aged us little by little. As Ashlynn finished the 3rd letter, I walked away from the bench towards a tree with cascading branches and yellow leaves. She joined me under the branches where I gave her the 4th letter. She finished reading and we moved to a bench just beyond the branches where I gave her the 5th letter. My heart was pounding and Ashlynn had started to cry. As she finished the 5th letter we walked until we made our way through a tree line, down stone steps, and on to a path. I found a bench on the side of the path and we sat down where I gave her the final letter in silence. As she was half way through, I started to walk directly in front of the bench between some trees overlooking a small lake, where I stood and waited for her to arrive. As she approached we were both in tears, and as I echoed the sentiment of the letters I kneeled, and asked her to marry me. The 6th letter can be accompanied by the hundreds of pictures we took that day, memories we made for a lifetime, celebrating our next step in our journey as a couple.