See You at Camp Lakotah!

Full disclosure: This is really the night HE remembers us meeting! (We were actually briefly introduced one night a few months prior, while I was on a "set up" date with someone else. I saw Chad on stage singing karaoke at the Mineshaft, and soon forgot about my date. I went home that night and told my friend that THAT was the guy I wanted to be set up with! Forget the other guy! ) So, one night a few months later, I was home in bed, when my matchmaker friend texted and asked if I wanted to meet up with her and her boyfriend for a few drinks at On the Rocks Bar. I said "no". Those that know me well are aware that if I’m already turned in for the evening, John Stamos could be asking me to go out and I'd probably still say no. Determined to get me out that night though, she added that “Hot Chad from the Mineshaft” would be there. Needless to say, my “no” quickly changed to an “I’ll be there in 30 minutes!” We met (officially this time), and it was love at first (second) sight!

In the Fall of 2019, Chad and I spent a weekend tent camping in the Porcupine Mountains in Upper Michigan. It was his first time there and the fall colors were breathtaking. This area has always been special to me, as it was a place my Uncle Wally had taken me and my brothers frequently; and I had been eager to get Chad up there to experience it for himself. He fell in love with the area immediately, and at that moment had already decided (unbeknownst to me) that when we returned the following year, he would be asking me to marry him. Fast forward to October of 2020 and we were back, he with a ring in his pocket, and me totally clueless. He chose the Lake of the Clouds for the location, and as we hiked to the top of the mountain, he swiftly attached the ring box to Beckett's collar, and sent him over to me. As I crouched down toward the dog to investigate, Chad met me on one knee, and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I cried, he cried, the dog ran away (not kidding), we chased after the dog, we caught the dog, and finally I said YES! (Leave it to Beckett to make the moment about him!)