When I graduated college in 2018 I was hired at Groton as a long-term substitute in a sixth-grade classroom. Lucky for me, Jake was also a sixth-grade teacher in Groton. At the beginning of this experience, Jake and I didn't see each other outside of lunch and recess duty. We didn't get along very well and just did what we had to do to get through the day. Next thing I know Jake is asking me to watch his class so that he can change for baseball practice...every day. Eventually, we exchanged Snapchats and began talking daily. He continuously asked me when we were going to hang out during the summer and I eventually gave in and went golfing with him. Little did I know I would fall in love with the same man that I didn't get along with three months prior.

A few weeks before our February break, Jake and I decided that we wanted to go somewhere out of town for a couple of days. With the pandemic, we knew that we had to go somewhere in New York. It didn't take us long to agree on going to Lake Placid. Jake was set on finding a dog-friendly place and bringing our dog Chipper. We spent the first day exploring the town, eating, and relaxing in the hot tub. The next day we got up and did the same thing. We walked through town, went to the Lake Placid museum and Olympic Ice Rink, and then went to the Olympic Ski Jump. When we got to the ski jump we walked to the back deck and took in the view. It was lightly snowing and so peaceful...no one was around. I took a picture of the ski jump and when I turned around to show Jake he was standing there with the ring in his hand. This proposal was everything that I dreamed of and I continued to cry happy tears for the next week.