We met for the first time at a Christmas party at Rawson Carter’s and Danny Brown’s house. I was going there to be with Rawson and Danny. Monica was there with her parents, since she had known Rawson and Danny since moving to Maryland. Danny said to me to ask her out sometime, since he thought they would be nice together. I gathered my courage and asked Monica out to Starbucks (the first time was really tough for me to get Monica to open up, the second time was better and the third date was the winner). I knew that Monica was special when she invited me to go to listen to Couch Ken Niumatalolo at the Mormon Temple in Annapolis after our last date at Starbucks. I saw how kind and attentive she was to everyone that we met, even though we are not Mormon (knowing only two people there). The third date was the start of their adventures together, including going to Shenandoah for her birthdays, Vegas and Utah for seeing the West and Monica putting up with my hiking around (and getting turned around every so often). After 1 year together through with the highs of having her love me completely and the lows of a re-occurrence of my brain tumor, I knew that Monica was the one for me. I spent my time and talents (that ring did more traveling than we did this year) to get her the most special ring, which has not left her finger since. She saw my romantic side again, timing getting down on one knee exactly at sunset on September 25th, with her saying yes! #worththewait We chose this hashtag while listening to a church message on a Sunday morning. Jim and I are not exactly a young couple! When we finally got together and fell in love, I felt that this relationship came to me...at last. During the church sermon we studied Isaiah 64:14 which states that God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. Well, we waited and when God brought us together it was... #worththewait.

I met Jim several years ago at a Christmas Party. We struck up a casual conversation and shared some laughs. Danny, the host of the Christmas Party, encouraged me to stay in touch with Jim. Through a series of texts we set up our first "date." We met for coffee and I was not impressed... I am sure that you will be surprised to know that I am not always the easiest person to connect with. I am not sure why, but we stayed in touch and eventually we went out to dinner. This was better than our coffee date but nothing remarkable. Some time went by and Jim would text me occasionally. His last text was simple. "Hey Monica, I am checking in to see how you are. Thinking of you, Jim." Now- I was impressed. We met a third time. A quick coffee date that started at 2 and ended at 9. I knew that day. We started dating immediately. Jim is a true romantic and I enjoy every act of love and kindness. There have been phone calls and text messages, roses and Ticonderoga pencils (remember, I am a teacher!). Handwritten notes and cards. Dinners out and homemade meals. Jim always opens the car door and then, once I am settled, he hands me the seatbelt. It gets me everytime. I could get used to this. One thing that I have learned is that Jim does not have a good sense of direction. He can drive us anywhere but if there is not a GPS available - do not follow Jim. Jim enjoys hiking and I tolerate it. I have come to understand that Jim’s definition of an “easy hike” is very different from my definition. When I get in over my head, I panic. I tell you this so that I can say, Jim holds my hand and wipes my tears. No matter what direction he leads me in, he always walks ahead of me and paves a path. Our journey will not always be easy and he may not always know the way, but we will walk it together. #worththewait