The morning before I met Keith, I sat down with my journal to write about this blind double date I was going on later that day. My coworker set it up since I was newly single and needed a low stakes kind of date to introduce me to the dating world. "Nothing serious" was what I was aiming for (haha). Full of nerves and excitement, I wrote in my journal that this date would simply be a “learning experience” since I figured it would be a while before I got into something serious. This stranger named Keith, who I was told was 25 years old (Which I said was too old before my coworker convinced me otherwise), was apparently a catch but I still aimed to just have fun and not take it too seriously. Later that night I got ready and made my way to Primal Brewery. I sat at the picnic table with the other couple, waiting for Keith, who actually showed up late. However, when he walked up to greet me I lost all sense of time. I kid you not, the earth stood still in that moment. My "low stakes" date turned into a night of deep conversation, insatiable laughter, and feelings through the roof. Nestled on the couch inside of Primal, we talked and laughed until the brewery closed and we had to be kicked out. I left Primal Brewery praying that this would be the beginning of something beautiful. That night I started falling in-love with my future husband. Thank goodness God's plans are bigger than mine. Oh, and 2 days later I found out he was actually 27. But hey, I was already locked in :)

On the evening of October 20th, 2016, I received a random text from Phil asking if I wanted to go on a double date with his girlfriend (now wife) and a "total cutie" named Juliet. He included a picture of this beautiful young lady and said she was 21, which I thought was a little too young (I was 27 at the time) but she was beautiful and I figured I would give it a shot. The next night, my flight had been delayed, but I was able to make it back into town for the date. The nap I took when I got home caused me to be a few minutes late to the brewery. Juliet still brings this up on the regular, but hey, I showed up! When I finally pulled up to the brewery and walked up to the table where Juliet was sitting, my jaw hit the ground. She was far more beautiful than even the pictures had indicated. From that point forward, I just kept telling myself, “Keith don’t screw this up.” About halfway through the evening, I mustered the courage to ask her if I could hold her hand and she flashed her beautiful smile and said “yes.” We were both obviously nervous at first, but our conversations were so natural that evening and we both learned of our equal affinity for coffee. Eventually the brewery staff had to kick us out because it was closing time and we were still in deep conversation. A couple days later, I learned that Juliet was actually 20 and that Juliet had been told that I was 25. However, at this point even though I had only known her for a couple days, it didn’t matter. I was already completely smitten. A week later, I literally put a note on October 21, 2016 within my phone’s calendar that said “the day I met Juliet” because I was so confident it was a date to remember and that our relationship was going to be special. In the years since, she has supported me in so many ways both emotionally and spiritually. I love her with all my heart and am so thankful God has blessed me with the opportunity to marry such an amazing soul..