Josh and I met in late 2018. I had recently started going to Mid-Way and apparently we had talked for quite a while at a Christmas party (I don't remember this). We became friends and that friendship turned into a relationship in the Spring of 2019. Unfortunately, it was short-lived. We were in different places in our lives and neither of us as ready for a relationship as we had thought. I was the one to end things, but Josh always claims he would have also, once I got back from my trip to Disney... so thoughtful! Over the next few months we avoided each other and didn't spend much time together. But, as time went on, our close friends were all the same and we ended up constantly being together, but in groups. 2021 hit like a freight train for my friends, his friends, and himself. We spent a lot of the year talking through things together, venting, encouraging one another and supporting our friends. This time produced an immense vulnerability in our relationship. We connected on levels that not many people do and we supported one another in some of the most difficult times we have walked through. In December of 2021, we went to a New Years party separately, but with two of our friends. That was the night Josh realized he needed to do something about our friendship. In January, after avoiding the conversation on my end as long as possible, we met up for hot cocoa. We spent an hour talking and catching up on life before the coffee shop closed. When it was time to go, Josh offered to drive me to my car. His car was further away than mine, but I agreed. We sat and chatted in the car for a bit before he finally decided to tell me what he needed to tell me. We had a great conversation and left with smiles on our faces. We spent the next month or so doing things together, just the two of us, to see if a relationship could happen. Toward the end of February, I finally decided I was ready. We made things official, for the second time, and it has been nothing short of amazing since. We are so excited for this season, and so grateful for all of the many friends who constantly encouraged us and pushed us out of our comfort zones to make all of this happen.