Natalie and my’s story begins at the pool, where we worked as lifeguards. Before Natalie and I were in a serious relationship, we got to know each other and became good friends through working at the Montrose public pool together in the summer of 2014. We were paired as a swim instructor/aid where we taught swim lessons. Natalie was still quite shy at this time, so it took a while for her to come out of her shell. Throughout the summer, we got to know each other better and I found that I really enjoyed talking to her. I would stay on top of the slide to talk to her, or she would come down to the guard stand below the slide and talk to me. Conversation was genuine, easy and it seemed as though we could discuss anything together. There was always something about her that intrigued me. Although she was quiet, she had a sureness about her that told me I could trust her. She was also genuinely sweet and pure, something very attractive and rare. It was a fun summer and at the end of it, we were friends. After the summer was over, I was headed off to my freshman year of college, but we stayed in touch with each other the first semester. We then saw each other during Thanksgiving and Christmas. The second semester we communicated even more, including a few several hour skype calls. I saw her again at spring break and by the time I came home for the summer, we were close to officially dating. However a couple weeks into the summer, after a great deal of thought I decided to end things before they got too serious. There was too much of an age gap, even though I really wanted to date, I felt that it was not yet time. This event proved to be rough on our relationship. We worked a tense summer at the pool, leading into a school year that was nearly contactless. After the hardship we had gone through, I never thought there was a way she would ever want to be with me again. Little did I know that the coming summer held an unexpected turn of events.

In the spring of 2016, I went back to working at the pool and, to my surprise, Natalie came up and chatted with me as if we were still good friends who hadn’t kept in touch. A couple weeks later she asked if I wanted to come over and “help paint” the shed she was going to live in for the summer. That night we stayed up all night catching up with each other. After that we saw each other every week. That was the best summer I have ever had. We unofficially dated all the way up until August when we both went to college, which would be over 800 miles away from each other. I figured she would not want go into college in a relationship, also considering it would be hard for us because of the distance. For this reason, I did not officially ask her if she wanted to be my girlfriend. This was a mistake. About a month into school, I realized I could not stop thinking about her and how much I wanted to be with her. We still talked like we were dating, not seeing other people, missing each other and I thought it was foolish that I did not ask to be in a relationship. Finally in October I traveled to Denver and made it official. During the rest of college, our relationship grew despite the distance that we had to overcome. We visited as much as we could, always making the most of every moment we had together. Many hours were spent on the phone getting to know each other more, describing how our days were, how much we missed one another, and what the future looked like for us. We both ended up losing quite a bit of sleep from staying up on the phone for so long.

Eventually we both graduated, I moved back to Colorado full time and we were able to drive to see each other instead of fly. We got pretty tired of that as well, so I moved to Longmont Colorado in the summer of 2019 to finally be closer to her. A half an hour drive was nothing compared to what we were used to, making it possible for us to see each other once a week. Being able to see each other often has been a blessing for us, allowing us to mature in our relationship. We have much enjoyed the past couple years seeing each other often and look forward to spending every day together. Long distance is hard for any relationship, but it also strengthens and builds them as well. From fall of 2016 to summer of 2019 we endured the distance, staying true the whole time. We have always been able to make it work, usually traveling to see each other about once a month. No matter how much time we spend away, or how much we miss each other, being together is always like we never missed a day. We have matured together, grown together, built each other up, and experienced some of the lowest points and worst sides of each other. Through it all, we love each other unconditionally. The thought of what we will experience and accomplish in a lifetime together is elating to us.

It started off as a normal day at work flight instructing. It was one of the best days flying in a while. The winds were calm, the visibility was great, a perfect day to fly. This was my last flight of the day with a student, Danny. Danny had been out of town for a little over a month and had to come back to town for "a work thing" and asked if he could throw himself on my schedule. I was excited as per usual. I had a big plan for us to go to Fort Collins and practice landings. Danny got to the flight school and was very persistent about going to Longmont. In turn I was very persistent about going to Fort Collins because I had this whole plan. Ultimately, we decided on Longmont because his instructor, Andrew (one of my best friends at the flight school), told him that he needed to be making more decisions himself. This is definitely true and definitely something Andrew would say so I reluctantly agreed. As we were approaching Longmont, we were on our final approach and I see a sign. My first thought was "how cute." I have always loved big sign gestures. As we got closer I start seeing the actual words on the sign. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. It said "NAT! MARRY ME?" Naturally I started freaking out. I asked Danny "what does that say?" Somehow I managed to hold it together enough for the landing, but I was definitely freaking out. When we landed, Clay was standing there all dressed up (a rarity) and looked so handsome. My friend Andrew was also there directing traffic to make sure the right runway was in use so we would see the sign. The rest is kind of a blur. Later Clay told me that he had driven to Norwood to ask my dads permission in person (about a 6 1/2 hour drive) and asked my moms permission in person while I was moving in November. I feel so lucky and blessed to have someone as good as Clay. He did everything right and it truly was the best proposal I could have imagined.