We met the old-fashioned way—on a dating app—while I was in medical school and Rob was in Army helicopter flight school, both of us living in the middle of nowhere. Fate (and Wi-Fi) had to work a little extra hard to bring us together. A little older and a little wiser, we both knew pretty early on what we were looking for—and we found it in each other. Between long distance, school, residency, military stations, and deployment, we’ve spent our entire relationship making miles work in our favor. And somehow, we always have. Along the way, I was lucky enough to fall in love not only with Rob, but also with his two amazing girls, who have brought so much joy into our lives. Becoming their stepmom is something I’m truly excited and grateful for—especially since I’ve had a wonderful stepdad of my own to learn from. We even designed the engagement ring together, which made the proposal extra special… and extra confusing. Rob tried to involve the girls, but they got distracted (as kids do). While I was sitting in the park online shopping, one of them wandered up and mumbled something that sounded like “Will you be my stepmom?” Before I could process that, Rob was suddenly on one knee holding the ring—no box, just vibes. My first thought was, “Oh, that’s what the ring looks like. It turned out great!” Then it hit me. I was being proposed to! Now here we are—still laughing, still making long distance work, still teasing me about being a “cougar” for being a whopping three years older than him, and more excited than ever to start this next chapter together. We can’t wait to celebrate with all of you and officially become a family.