Emma had been in the choir at church for a little over a year when Austin joined the church as the music director. Fast forward two years, many exchanged smiles and jokes, and right timing, to an invitation to play pickleball.
Our first official date was going to play pickleball together. The plan was to join an "open play" at the local pickleball place and enjoy playing with and against each other - purely just for fun... however, it turned out this "open play" was a lot more serious and competitive than we had anticipated and we spent the night playing with a bunch of random people. Ultimately, we barely saw each other over the course the two hour playing time. The date was saved though by going to the local Mexican restaurant and talking over some themed tacos. 🌮 🌮🌮
Austin: One particularly fond memory (of many) is from our trip to the U.P. in June of 2024. We had just spent over a week together adventuring all across the U.P. and northern Wisconsin, seeing and doing incredible things along the way. At the end of it all, we stopped at a park overlooking the Mackinac Bridge before we would make our trek over said bridge and bring our journey to a close. I remember standing behind Emma with my arms around her as we watched the waves crash where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. I felt as though I could live in that peaceful moment forever. Emma: A singular favorite memory? Hmmm. My favorite moment with Austin (so far) was on one of our first dates to the Toledo Zoo. We had made our way to the red pandas -- my favorite -- and were just watching the animals move around after they had done some painting. At least fifteen minutes must have passed by, but when I looked at Austin, he looked content to keep standing there as long as I wanted, despite the biting wind. He smiled at me and said to let him know when I was ready but not to rush. He was good watching me smile. I knew in that minute that he was the one I would want standing by my side through anything.