Let's get married!

Those terrible dating apps everyone is always complaining about actually work sometimes. We met through Hinge and I knew Nina was special when she tried making a joke about Iowa (my home state) being known for their potatoes (she meant Idaho). I soon asked her to dinner at a restaurant in Brooklyn. I sat at the bar and kept the seat to my left open for her. I didn't know it at the time but she claims the right side of her face is more aesthetically pleasing than her left so she took this as a good sign. The first word out of my mouth was "noooo". Weeks later she had me clarify what I meant and I told her it was because I was in disbelief she was so much more beautiful in person than in her pictures. We instantly hit it off - things felt comfortable, natural, and exciting. Nina met my son and daughter a few months into our relationship and naturally, they loved her. I'm very happy for the bond they have and grateful they get along as well as they do. Having kids can be a tough sell and it takes an open-hearted person to embrace it. This told me a lot about Nina. Nina and I wasted no time and things moved pretty quickly. We've lived together in three different cities including Brooklyn, somewhere in upstate New York (gross), and now Allentown, Pennsylvania where Nina is finishing up her residency. It doesn't make a difference where we are though, because having eachother is the only thing that matters. Our love for one another continues to grow more and more everyday. Outside of my kids, meeting Nina was the best thing to ever happen to me and her family is icing on the cake.

When the weather's nice, we like to have picnics at a nearby trail called "Trexler Park". The kids love it because there's this one giant tree that has a million-and-one branches, encapsulating it in leafy greenery. They usually play hidden inside this space for hours, while we get lit off cheap wine. On this one particular outing, the kids ran out the tree with a small jewelry box, screaming in excitement because they had just found a "TREASURE CHEST!" They handed it to me and I was shocked to see numerous jewelry items that, to my novice eyes, looked very real. "OMG we're rich", thought the idiot (me). Then I found the note... Now to preface, when Kelly & I first started dating he played me a song called "Must be Doin' Something Right" by Billy Currington. Every once in a while he'd even sing it to me and over time it naturally became "our song" (barf). Anyway, the note read, "If you are reading this then it's a very special day... Take one item and give it to someone you love as soon as possible. It must be the kind of love that is unconditional and unbreakable".... and then quoting "our" song, the note continued... "I hope I'm on the right road. But judging by the smile on your face, I must be doing something right. I just heard you sigh. You leaned into my kiss and closed those deep [brown] need you eyes. Don't know what I did, to earn a love like this but baby, I must be doing something right..." So... believe it or not I still had no idea that the box was planted. Anders pulled out the ring and I looked at Kelly like an idiot and said "Omg this is exactly the ring I told you I wanted!". And then Kelly, grinning from ear-to-ear (obviously amused by my stupidity), got down on one knee and popped the question. It was a bittersweet moment because, in addition to feeling elated, I was grieving over how we had not in fact accidentally come across a treasure-chest of gold. Anyway, I said yes. Also, props to the kids for being such great actors.