Meeting at work in a bank in 2008 was the start of our adventure! We were in our 20s, in relationships, and certain we had our lives figured out. But in 2009, we realized we had nada figured out. Ironically, we both found ourselves in failed relationships. Jim asked me if we could hang out, and I was not turning down his invitation! We went on all of these really fun dates. Hey, we were single...why not?!  There was never a dull moment. We spoke to one another for countless hours and shared so much in common. We truly enjoyed each other's company. It was evident that at the end of all those encounters, an everlasting impression of one another was left in each of us.  BUT, we had a little hiccup. Our text messages to each other created a whirlwind of a bad misunderstanding one day. Text messaging cannot accurately convey tone and emotion. It also lacks body language, so our texts were misinterpreted. Sadly, one misconstrued message caused our demise.  "She's beautiful---but I don't want to be too pushy." Jim was hesitant on reaching out.  "He's absolutely amazing--- but this was all too good to be true." In complete self-sabotage mode, we both stared at our phones and did nothing to clarify our miscommunication. We carried on with our lives...this time without each other. Little did we know, that our time spent together created a flame; although it may have dimmed, it never burned out. Throughout the years, we saw one another during events with mutual friends we shared (hey Ronnie! LOL), feeling butterflies inside but reacting like nothing phased us...until the end of 2018. Somehow we each mustered the courage to speak again. One text led to a phone conversation; one phone conversation led to many more. Those dozens of phone conversations eventually led us to our second, first date at Veggie Heaven!! That was the night that rekindled everything. And we shared our first kiss. We've gone through a series of roller coasters...we've laughed and cried, shared all our secrets, shared our dreams, and most importantly our future goals. We moved in together in 2020, during Covid's explosion. We learned the true definition of trust and we mastered how to give and take. We learned to be patient and work as a team. On February 2, 2022, we got engaged! Jim proposed in our apartment, having Nala's permission to pop the question, on one knee with his arms wrapped around us both! With no hesitation, I yelled out, "Yes!" It was incredibly surreal. Thank goodness for history repeating itself. As crazy as it sounds, we were just simply meant to be. After 14 years, we are now here. We were and still are two kids in love.