We're getting married!

Our story begins at the Aurora Country Club, where we were each working a summer job. Our paths had crossed at work sporadically the summer before, but this summer, there was something different. I found myself checking the schedule every week to see if Kaitlin's shifts synced with mine, hoping for just a few minutes to talk between pouring drinks and waiting tables. And then, just like that, the summer was over, and she was back to school and basketball at Loras, two and a half hours away that felt so much longer. I wasn't sure I would ever really have a chance to find anything more with her. Still, we had always bonded over basketball, and she was in the middle of an incredible return from a torn ACL, starting every game for a team that made the NCAA tournament. I made time to watch any game I could, with a 'good luck' or 'congratulations' message for every game. Soon, we found ourselves chatting more and more, and our feelings growing. We could both feel that maybe there was something there, maybe the distance wasn't so far after all. When Kaitlin came home that year for spring break, I realized that now was my shot. And so I made a dinner reservation (still I think the biggest singular impression I have made on Kaitlin to this day), and the rest, as they say, is history. We still had five years of long-distance ahead, but never once did our faith in each other or the strength of our relationship falter. For all that might have held us back, we chose together to take a chance, and it led us to the love of our lives.

Like so many events of the past two years, the moment of our proposal was one that got put on hold, after what I had thought would be the 'perfect' moment no longer seemed possible. There were pieces I hoped for that would have to wait, until soon it seemed like the waiting wouldn't stop. I wanted it to feel perfect, but with the world turning as it did, I wasn't sure if perfect would be possible. But what I was sure of was that I wanted us to be able to celebrate an engagement with both of our families, and in my heart I knew that would be what mattered more than anything else to Kaitlin, too. Christmas would finally give us that chance, where we would get to share in our celebration with the people that we love the most; that piece of the story would rise above all the others. We made it through our final day of work before we would leave our apartment to spend an extended Christmas holiday at our parents' homes. It would be our last night together, when we could celebrate our Christmas. After dinner, we exchanged our gifts. My heart pounded as I tried to play off needing to grab 'one more gift' from the other room. In the box I handed her was an ornament of an open jewelry box and a ring, matching the one I had slipped into my pocket. Once I could see the realization dawn on her face, I got down to a knee and lent voice to the question I had been waiting to ask her for years. The next few days were filled with cheers, joy, and a few tears as we shared our wonderful news with friends and celebrated our engagement with our families. While it wasn't the story we might have imagined, looking back, it was perfect, because it was ours.