We’re getting married!

As crazy as it sounds, our first date was at the gym. Cody lived in New Bern at the time so he drove to Jacksonville to meet me. We met that morning at 10am and worked out together for the first time. Which if you know us now, you know that we go together about every day. I made sure to show Cody how to workout "LadyBoss style." Once the workout was over, Cody invited me to breakfast. We drove over to Waffle House down the road to enjoy waffles, smothered hash browns, and eggs. We asked questions, got to know each other, and people watched. After breakfast, Cody invited me to a movie. We decided that we would go our separate ways, shower, get ready, and Cody would pick me up at my apartment. The movie was at 3pm and like always, Cody was on time to pick me up. He opened my car door and we were off to see Spiderman. After the movie, it was time for dinner. We decided on Old Chicago. During dinner, we continued to talk to each other about life and what we wanted out of it. Once dinner was done, we decided the night was not over, so we voted on bowling. Unfortunately when we arrived, the bowling alley was closed. So we decided to go to the mall and walk around, then Walmart. The night ended with a good night kiss and plans for our second date the next day. This time, I drove to New Bern.

As some of you may know, when I first started talking to Taylar I lived in New Bern. Some of you may also know that we met online through a dating app called bumble (two thumbs up by the way). We chatted back and forth for a few days before we decided to meet in person and ever the cautious man, we met in public… at a Jacksonville location of my choosing… the gym. Yes, our first date was at the gym. Honestly, and I don’t know if she knows this to this day, I wanted to see what kind of effort she would put into exercise since it is something I value. She didn’t disappoint. Our first date also lasted 12 hours give or take, not entirely at the gym. After the gym we had to fuel up so we went to the Waffle House around the way for eggs and coffee. Here is where we got to actually sit and talk and start verbally learning about one another. Still liked what I was seeing so I asked her to a movie… the same day. She went home to her apartment, I went to the local residence I frequented when in Jacksonville (my parents) to shower. The movie was Spiderman, good restart for the franchise if you ask me, then we got some food at Old Chicago. Things were still going well at this point so instead of dropping her off, I was invited inside and it was here I got to see what I was getting myself into… everything was neat and organized and had it’s own place, much different than my own apartment at the time. We sat on the couch and talked, watched some Netflix without chilling, it was pleasant. It all wrapped up quite nicely with a goodnight kiss and plans to see each other again, the next day in New Bern when she would come visit me and realize she had her hands full teaching me to be more organized at home. The rest is a shared history for which I am proud to be a part of with this woman, Taylar Nicole Whittlesey.

Cody and Taylar got engaged on Thanksgiving day 2018. He got down on one knee in front of her whole family and asked her to marry him. Of course she said yes!