For nearly three years, we existed in the same congregation—two paths running quietly alongside each other, waiting for the right moment to cross. That moment arrived when Sunday service meetings were held at my house. Between small talk and shared smiles, a simple conversation began… about Garmin watches. Unassuming, almost magical in hindsight, it became the first thread in our story. Not long after we started dating, Aaron gave me my very first Garmin watch—his first gift to me, and a reminder of the moment our paths finally crossed at just the right time. If you ask Aaron, he’ll also tell you he fell in love not with perfection, but with the realness of it all. With me rushing in from my 7am–9am SMPW shift, a little disheveled, determined to make it all work. With floors being swept straight out the back door—no dustpan in sight—Bruno being fed, and something quietly blooming in the middle of the chaos. It wasn’t a grand entrance or a dramatic beginning. It was gentle. It was real. And it was the start of a love story we’re so grateful is ours.

It was a Friday night with dinner plans downtown with my sister and brother-in-law. As we strolled along Mills Avenue, surrounded by twinkling lights and familiar streets, I did what I had done a hundred times before—I looked up at the Plaza Theater marquee. Only this time, the lights were telling our story. Written across the lights was the sweetest question: “Isla, Will You Give Me Those Ojitos Forever?” He gently walked me to the center, took both of my hands, the world softly fading away. He spoke words filled with love and promise, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. In that moment, the street felt enchanted, the lights felt like stars, and the answer felt written long before the question was asked. It was a perfect, magical yes.