Christopher and I grew up in church together for years, but it wasn't until we hung out at Carowinds' Christian Music Day in September 2016 that we really saw each other as more than just faces in the pews. Christopher was living in Charlotte at the time, so we didn’t talk much or know each other too well. I always thought he was cute, and I was happy to see him join the group that was going to Carowinds for the day. We rode numerous rides and took countless water breaks at the drink stations around the park. Neither one of us, though, wanted to ride the Intimidator. The line was crazy long, and honestly, both of us were a little fearful of the height of the coaster. So instead, we went off by ourselves and re-rode some of the rides from earlier. To pass the time, we talked each other’s ears off in the lines. This certainly opened our eyes when we discovered how much we had in common. It was great being able to talk so openly and enjoy each other’s company. One of the rides we would return to was the Scream Weaver—a circle of gondolas on a big wheel that spins around and around faster and faster until it becomes entirely vertical. The gondolas were small, but they could fit two people inside if one person was sitting closely in front of the other. At the beginning of the day, everyone in our group took to their own gondola. When it was just the two of us approaching the entrance to the ride, Christopher asked “Do you want to ride together or separate?”. Let me tell you--my heart immediately started pounding! We mutually agree that this was the defining moment in showing a romantic interest that would hopefully go beyond that day. Christopher says he was testing the waters with that loaded question. If I agreed to sit cuddled up to him on that whirlwind of a ride, then I probably had experienced the same spark of attraction he had felt. Boy was I glad that I followed my heart, took a chance, and said “Let’s ride together” to this incredibly cute guy!

Christopher took three days off from work in the middle of the week so that we could have a little bit of a vacation. We drove up to Black Mountain, NC, where we had gone camping over three years ago. We set up camp on Wednesday, relaxed, and considered what we would do in the full day to come. I already knew that we were going to try and hike up to the private waterfall we had visited years before. I couldn’t wait to continue the tradition of jumping into the freezing cold water, taking pictures in front of the beautiful scene, and finding the place where our initials were carved into a tree. Little did I know that he was planning on proposing in that very spot when we arrived! On the morning of July 16th, we took an hour drive up to the peak of Mount Mitchell to walk through their trails and see how the landscape morphed into large spruce and fir trees. It was a beautiful sight! After we had spent a considerable amount of time there enjoying the view and taking tons of pictures, we descended the mountain, grabbed a quick lunch, and headed to the nature walk entrance of the waterfall. It was a 1.2 mile walk up and down a slippery, muddy path to the base of a beautiful waterfall where the general public would stop and gather. When we continued higher up, we noticed caution tape closing off our way to our more private waterfall. Apparently, rain had washed the dirt path away leaving steep, jagged rocks behind that I wasn’t confident enough in climbing. What was going to be an intimate moment with the camera set up on a rock to record our proposal from the base of the waterfall scene quickly adapted into a kind stranger being asked quickly and sneakily to pretend to take a picture of us so that the moment could still be captured. I admire Christopher for adapting to the change so seamlessly! He shifted his body after the "picture" was taken and got down on one knee. In shock and glee, I immediately said "yes!" to the perfect proposal and the most perfect man!