Welcome To Our Forever

They had been friends on Twitter during Graduate School. In June 2018 Ashley was living in Illinois and Stephen in Kansas, Ashley decided it was time to introduce herself to Stephen formally, well virtually. She messaged him on Twitter and the two started getting to know each other. First over their love for their career field, transitioning to unpopular opinions, and then to a heated conversation over pizza- deep dish vs thin crust. A few months later Stephen was trying to convince Ashley to come to a conference he was on a committee for. Ashley was unsure if she would get the approval but she did along with her coworker, Jocelyn. Ashley was nervous the whole ride because she was going to meet Stephen in person and she had started developing feelings for him. Little did she know that Stephen was having similar feelings and Jocelyn had a plan up her sleeve for the two. During the final night of the conference Jocelyn talked with Stephen and asked him if he wanted to ask Ashley on date, he said that because she was 8 hours away that he wasn't sure if she would feel the same. Jocelyn told him, she is not 8 hours away right now. When they arrived at the hotel Stephen asked her if she wanted to come up and talk some more. The two talked into the early morning getting to know each other and felt the connection between them. At the end of the conference they said their goodbyes unsure what this would mean for the two. The ride back Ashley received a text, "I know we just officially met but I had such a fun time with you, I think I'm going to buy a plane ticket to see you over winter break." She was surprised, unsure if he really meant it, but wanted it to be true. The next day they talked about the details, and Stephen booked his flight.

Ashley moved to Kansas in January 2019 to start her new job at the same university Stephen was working at. The two were thriving. They adopted their dog, Tug, in March and were finally able to do all the things they had been talking about when they were 8 hours apart. They hosted game nights, planned date nights, and watched football on Sundays. At the end of October 2019, Stephen landed the job in Pennsylvania. The two were excited for this journey, but they knew the stress and hardship that would be coming. Moving Stephen was an exciting time but when Ashley left to return to Kansas it was one of the hardest “see you soon” the two had. They had come to the agreement that their dog, Tug, would be living with Stephen in Pennsylvania. Ashley wasn't just saying see you soon to Stephen, but also Tug. The two made plans for Stephen to fly to Illinois to spend Fall break with Ashley and her mom. Ashley would fly to Pennsylvania in December to spend time with Stephen. Those plans helped get them through the first two months of distance, but spring had no plan. Knowing she would be moving at the end of May; it made the time go by quickly until Spring break with COVID-19. Colleges were shutting down, there was a lot of unknown, and Ashley didn't have a job lined up. Ashley was worried that she wouldn't be able to move during the pandemic. Stephen wouldn't be able to come and help Ashley move, so she would make the move by herself. As it was nearing the end of May, she packed her belongings, loaded up the U haul and started the 22-hour drive to be reunited with Stephen and Tug.

Stephen knew Ashley was the one he planned to marry the first time they met; the question was never if, but when. That "when" happened September 5th, 2020. The plan fell into place when Ashley's mom planned to visit over Labor Day weekend. Stephen bought the ring, made the engagement box, and planned the best hike they would go on. Ashley had three main rules when talking about getting engaged: 1) Tug had to be involved 2) Not on any holiday or big life event 3) Not in a giant public place (there goes Stephen's plan to do it at Yankee Stadium) Brandywine State Park has great hiking trails that along the Brandywine River, it's a great place to enjoy nature and burn off some of Tug's energy. As they enjoyed their hike, they stopped at a nice inlet that opens to the river for lunch. Ashley's mom took some photos then signaled to Stephen it was time. Stephen grabbed the ring box and asked if Ashley would be his adventure buddy for life and to "do this for tax and insurance purposes". Through tears, Ashley happily said yes and the engagement was celebrated by all, even the group walking on the trail across the river!