Our dating anniversary is February 21, 2020. We all know what happened shortly after that. With Matt in San Antonio in medical school, and me in Rowlett living with my parents, we did not see each other for eight whole weeks after the day we made it official. Nightly FaceTime calls held us over until May, when Matt made the trip to Bedford to see his parents. We knew it would be wise to spend time outside, so we planned a picnic. We picked a place roughly halfway between our opposite sides of the metroplex: the Oak Lawn area of Dallas. It had an Eatzi's and Turtle Creek Park. It was the perfect afternoon and the beginning of many picnics at that spot with those amazing Eatzi's sandwiches. Every time Matt was in town for the next two years, we saved time for a date at our spot. Usually, it was a Sunday around 11:00 or 12:00 before Matt had to get on the road back to San Antonio. Saying goodbye never got easier, but those picnics sure were sweet. In June 2022, Matt moved to Rochester, New York to begin residency. I hung back at home until March 2023 when I made the move to join him. The Eatzi's cravings were real. So real. In December 2024, Matt has a week off from work. I can only swing a few days, but I still join him for the first half of the week in Dallas. I stay with my family- he stays with his. My mom makes reservations for us at the Dallas Arboretum on Tuesday, December 17th, to see the holiday lights. I invite Matt. Matt suggests an Eatzi's date beforehand (even though we'll be eating at the Arboretum). My parents drop me off at Eatzi's and say they'll look for stuff to do around the neighborhood until it's time to head to the Arboretum in a couple hours. Matt and I only pick up marinated feta (so good), no crackers because that's how much we like the marinated feta, and drinks from Eatzi's. We head to our spot. I want to sit at the bench where we said "I love you" for the first time to watch people play with their dogs and sit for a moment. Matt obliges. Then he says, "Let's walk around". One thing you should know about these picnics is that they only consist of a blanket that is kept in the trunk for this purpose and hardly ever washed. We turn a little corner and there is an elite level picnic set up. I'm talking: a two-blanket spread, a mini-Christmas tree with ornaments, flowers, champagne- I recognize an accent pillow from my sister's house?? I say, "What is this?" and only have time to put my purse and marinated feta down when I turn around to find Matt on one knee. "Will you marry me?" Of course! Our family comes out from the bushes, I'm so surprised and excited, Matt's trying to bring his heart rate down, we sip champagne and have charcuterie and feta, it is the best time. My best friend, Priya, came and took lots of pretty pictures of us (thank you Priya). Matt's uncle Chris is a photographer too and got sneaky shots of the whole thing. In the aftermath, between showing everyone my ring and hugging our people, Matt tells me he picked this day, December 17, because it has special significance to the Steidle family. It's the wedding anniversary of his grandpa Herb Steidle and late grandma, Margaret. It's the anniversary of the day his dad, Paul Steidle, proposed to his mom, Debbie. And now, it's the day we got engaged. I could not be happier to spend forever together.