We are getting married!

Well, our story starts so far back I can hardly remember. We met in 2005 when we both started working at the Old Spaghetti Factory in San Marcos. I was 17 and he was 20. I do not particularly remember us getting along, but Kirk didn’t like anyone, so to be honest I probably did not prefer him either. However, we had a lot of the same friends and really had no way to avoid each other. Throughout the years we continued to be friends with the same people and would occasionally run into each other at parties.    In 2006 I moved away for college, but had stayed close with one Kirk’s roommates. After graduating, I moved back to San Marcos and spent a lot of time hanging out with Kirk and his roommates. We had MANY late nights of playing Pinochle, watching movies, and probably having one or two drinks, max. Eventually Kirk and I got closer, (he was just too good a Pinochle partner). We started dating or talking or whatever we called it back then. Timing is everything people, and this was not our time. We both knew it, but it was fun.    Kirk ended up moving to Colorado after a few months. We stayed friends, and had many long chats over the phone. I went out to visit him at least once a year, just to make sure he never forgot about me. Back then I always said, if he moved back, we would be together. He was the Endgame. After four years of living in the cold weather, he was ready to be back to sunny San Diego. He started his career with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department and I was living and working in Encinitas. We saw each other often, went to see lots of movies, and had a few dinner date nights. It wasn’t easy, we lived at least 45 minutes apart, there was a lot of driving, and we both worked long hours. We did our best, and it worked for us at the time.    You know the beginning of a relationship and you are both trying to figure out if the other one really likes you? Well, when I was trying to figure this out he invited me on his family Lake Powell boat trip. Still then, I was not sure. We had never gone over any sort of labels. We truly never talked about that because I think we both knew, just never said it. Eventually, he casually asked me “What should I call you on the house boat… My girlfriend?” Of course I’m trying to be cool, so I said "Sure," with probably the stupidest smile on my face. And boom, Boyfriend and Girlfriend. (At least that’s Kirk’s side of how it went down, if you want the real story just ask me)

During those first few years we still lived 45 minutes apart. Neither of us knew that I was about to put more distance between us than ever before. Welcome to the story Nursing School. To test our relationship even more, I applied at East Tennessee State University. I would love to say I told him I was applying, or thinking of applying, or anything that would suggest him knowing prior to the day I was accepted, except I didn’t. I was too nervous to tell anyone. Four months later, I was off to start school across the country. To say I was nervous for our relationship was an understatement. He seemed certain we would make it. Spoiler alert, we did.   Do you all remember that crazy time in 2020 when the world shut down? Well, I was in school at that time, and those were some nerve racking times of what was going to happen. I had to leave ALL my belongings in Tennessee, including my car, and move back to California because I was no longer allowed to stay in my dorm on campus. During that time of me finding out, the news was reporting that airplane travel was also stopping for an unknown amount of time. Thankfully it never did. Kirk happened to be out visiting for his birthday when everything began shutting down. We did not know if we were going to be able to get back to California. One of our flights ended up being cancelled and rebooked by the airlines. It was stressful, but we made it back and were closer than ever. As we know, those two weeks of quarantine turned into months. Kirk and I got to “practice” living together. Thankfully we did not get sick of each other. If anything, it made our relationship stronger. Quarantine ended so I finished out my last few months of school in Tennessee, then came back to California. Now you would think long distance ended then, however it did not.    Kirk continued to live and work in San Diego, and I moved to live and work in Visalia. We talked about where we wanted to live, and ultimately Visalia won. You may wonder, why would we leave beautiful San Diego? Well, Visalia has something San Diego can’t offer; affordable housing. I knew we would be in San Diego for years without ever owning a home. Trust me, we looked. A year and a half after Kirk left San Diego and moved to Visalia, we bought a house. Plus the Visalia SPCA provided us with two of our pups, Tanis and Atlas. Along with Kronos, we’re all enjoying our new home in the Central Valley very much.

We can end the story with our engagement. After six and a half years, he finally did it! ;) He took me to one of our favorite vacation spots, Paso Robles, for my birthday. He probably had a very romantic plan for proposing at some vineyard or something. Unfortunately, he picked ME to propose to and in my defense, it had been almost seven years. My fear of him never wanting to marry me could not be held back and he became aware of my discontent on the first night of our trip while we were in the jacuzzi. We went back to the room barely speaking and I took a shower to get some space. Fearing the rest of the trip would be a nightmare and not wanting to go wine tasting with a girlfriend who is on the verge of tears for no reason, Kirk was waiting outside the bathroom on one knee with the ring. At least he told me he was, since I had already taken out my contacts and barely could see him. Who even knows what he said something about how he didn't want me to ruin my trip, he loves me, and to stop crying or something like that. Those who really know us know that this story is much more fitting for our relationship style. Needless to say, Kirk was relieved and the rest of the trip was much more enjoyable. Well that’s our long long how we got here story! We can not wait to see you all in a few months and celebrate this long time coming marriage!

"Look, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you. The right person is still going to think the sun shines out of your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with."