Sam: Grady and I met in our 8th grade gym class. Anyone who knows me knows I am not the most athletic person and none of my friends were in my class, so safe to say I was dreading it. I remember being asked to line up alphabetically and asking Grady his name. When he told me Vrenna, I immediately tried to go after him & didn't think anything of it. When he started arguing with me, I thought he was messing around & trying to flirt with me. But it worked because it made me laugh & when I realized I was wrong & he was being serious, I was so embarrassed. He never let me live that moment down (even to this day) but I'm so glad for that first, awkward and embarrassing conversation because it gave us something to talk about every day during class. 2 weeks later he asked me to be his girlfriend by our lockers, also right next to each other because of our last names. Grady: We met in gym class. This is what I wanted to say until Samantha saw it and said she hated me. We did meet in gym class though. On the first day of class the teacher told us to line up in alphabetical order. I found my place in line and Sam came up to me and asked what my last name started with. I told her it started with a V and she got in line behind me. I told her she was in the wrong spot and that she should be in front of me in line, but she was either embarrassed or couldn't admit that she was wrong. Either way, we ended up arguing about it. An argument that I won by the way. So I did what any boy would do in that situation. I messed with her for the rest of the class. I tripped her while we were running laps, messed with her hair, all the things a boy would do trying to flirt but having absolutely no idea how to. Apparently I did something right because she kept talking to me and when I asked her to be my girlfriend a little while after that she said yes.

May 22nd, a day that I had dreamed of for over a decade. I had a horrible day at work & just wanted to go home and nap. I drove home & called Grady to ask him what he wanted for dinner because I didn't feel like making anything. I still can't believe how casually he asked me if I wanted green beans or broccoli like our lives weren't about to change forever. I hung up, got home, and was immediately pissed because he had parked in front of the garage, blocking my way in (Side note- the garage was my absolute #1 on our house hunting list, something I wasn't willing to settle on because that's how much I hate having to park outside). So I had to walk through the rain and use the front door. I almost called him screaming and to insist he come out and move, but I realized our Amazon package had come so I got out. When I opeend the front door, I saw fairy lights all over the house. He had made a path with lights blocking the upstairs leading downstairs. I called for him & the dog because it still hadn't hit me what was happening. I thought maybe he had just planned something nice since we hadn't seen each other much with him working 2 jobs with crazy hours. I went downstairs and turned the corner, and there he was with music playing, dressed up, and surrounded by thousands of twinkle lights. It hit me then what was happening- he had told me over 10 years ago that he always knew he would propose one day and the only hint he'd give me was there would be a lot of lights. After that was a blur, I know he said some very sweet things and asked me to marry him, but most of the next 20 minutes are black in my mind. I don't even remember him getting down on one knee because I was so shocked it was finally happening. But of course I said yes!

Grady: I'm going to start by saying that Sam ended up getting Plan B for the proposal, but that's pretty much life with Covid. So instead of the original idea that I will NEVER tell anyone out of fear that she will hear about it and be disappointed, I proposed at our new house. I had just gotten off of working third shift and spent a little time with Sam before she went to work for the day. I gave her a kiss, said goodbye, and got to work. I strung up lights all over the entire downstairs of our house and made a path with lights leading from the front door to where I would be waiting. I picked out a song that I wanted to be playing in the background, what I would wear, and tried to think of what I was going to say but decided that it was useless and hoped I would know what to say in the moment. It took a couple of hours to get everything ready and when I was satisfied I was exhausted. I parked my car in front of the garage to make sure that she would come in through the front door and laid down to try and get a little sleep before she got home, but was too excited so I basically stayed in bed staring at the ceiling until it was time for her to get out of work. I got out of bed, got dressed, got the ring out of the safe, and saw that it was raining which was perfect because I knew that she would be pissed and start yelling about it the second she walked through the door. That is exactly what happened. Then she noticed the lights and started calling for me and asking what was going on. I didn't say a word. She followed the lights and when she saw me standing there all dolled up she asked me what was going on again and that's when i proposed. I wish I could tell you what I said because it was beautiful and would bring tears to your eyes, but to be honest I don't remember and neither does she. All I can tell you is that so far her saying yes after I asked her to marry me was the happiest moment of my life.