It was the afternoon of my birthday & I was attending an employee appreciation party with CWG to end my interview process. It was the first time I ever met Mike. My impression was brief, he was on his way out & I was overwhelmed with so many people there. I remember being intrigued by him. He had a demeanor & a confidence that sparked my curiosity. I remember watching Casey walk up the pathway by herself. Everyone was quick to talk about the potential new hire & I remember thinking how incredibly fearless she had to have been to walk into that kind of atmosphere to get a job. I wasted no time being my usual snarky (I call it charming) self. She was completely unphased by it. I can still see her smile when I close my eyes, it was the most genuine smile I ever saw. I lost track of time when Mike & I talked. I was very routine with my sleep, but talking to him threw my routine out the window. Before I knew it we were staying up till 4 am talking about everything. Being able to get to know him on such a personal level was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. He was my best friend. The first date was a roller coaster. We met at Chili's. My nerves were through the roof & I couldn’t stop talking. Honestly I was afraid of the conversation going dead & the possibility of him getting bored with me. I got the impression that she had absolutely no interest in me. Every time I tried to get a word in edgewise she would steamroll me & take the conversation in a million different directions. At the end of the night I walked her to her car thinking the night was over, but somehow the conversation just kept going. At this point the vibe drastically changed, I convinced myself I wasn't going to try & kiss her because I needed her to know this wasn’t just a fling to me. Despite my best efforts we kissed & didn’t look back. The next month was a blur. It was a whirlwind stealing every second we could spend together. I found it incredible we never lost interest & never got bored with the late night & early morning conversations. Truthfully I’m not sure when I actually moved in. I don’t think it ever formally happened. There was just a day when he looked at me & said “Can I stop asking when you’re coming home & just assume you’ll be here unless you tell me otherwise?” We pieced together our home one amazon couch at a time. The growth happened quickly & before we knew it we were bursting at the seams. We needed a new place to live. We found a beautiful new townhouse on the other side of Colchester & moved in October. The apartment was a pit stop for us before we found a place we both could build in together. When Mike told me he found a nice new townhouse I was immediately excited. He did everything, I didn’t even see the place until we got the keys to move in. Since moving in we have made this place a home. We eat family dinners at my grandma’s dining room table, adopted our puppy, Gus, & are even in the process of hanging family photos which ended up being much more than I thought they would be. It was just my luck to end up with Casey, the person who despises nothing more in this world than surprises. It makes it extremely difficult for a guy to propose. I had gone out for drinks with her dad & asked for his blessing, long story short & several beers later he told me “no give backs” & all that was left to do was ask the question. We had the family photos coming up after Christmas & I had it worked out with the photographer that I would propose there. Leading up to the shoot the weather looked like rain. Casey wanted to cancel it completely. We got into a small disagreement the night of Christmas about the photos again. It became clear I needed to pull an audible. I asked her to run downstairs & grab my water, when she came back up I was on my knee & scared beyond words. She cried, we kissed, & the rest is our history.