Chad and I never really hung out in the same crowds, considering I am 6 years older than him, so we did not have the same group of friends. However, we both ended up at The Shoe in Willard one night while I was with some of my friends and he was with some of his. I maybe had had a few beers, which definitely upped my social skills (I'm definitely an introvert). When he came over to start talking to some of the people around me, we got to talking too (because he's the extrovert). He ended up buying my drinks for the night and asked for my number, which I gave happily. The next day, I remember thinking, there is no way this is going to go anywhere -- who meets at a bar anymore?! However, he did in fact text me, and I was just kept thinking to not get too attached because it wasn't anything real. He went on a trip to Nashville with his friends/family, but we talked the entire time he was gone. As soon as he got back, we hung out almost every day. I like to think we both fell for each other quickly, and we knew we were the ones for each other early on. Despite my best efforts, I became very attached to him, and he became attached to me. Not only did I find my best friend in Chad, but I found my soulmate. In a whirlwind way, we got engaged after dating for 6 months, though it feels like we have been together for so much longer. I'm not sure I quite remember what life was like before Chad and I can't wait to continue this life with him.

Chad and I got engaged on September 27, 2024. This date has a lot of meanings. This is my birthday, as well as the day we lost my grandma in 2022. Since she left us, my birthday has never been the same, and I never really felt compelled to celebrate on a day that was filled with so much sorrow. Chad came into my life and told me as soon as he learned about my grandma, he told me that he was going to make my day as special as possible. I took the day off work and went to get pedicures with Chad sister, Kenadee, and her friend, Olivia. We had fun with our pedicures, shopping, coffee, and Crumbl cookies. We were on our way home, and they stopped the truck to tell me that I needed to be blindfolded to the rest of the way. I didn’t know if I was about to die or what was happening, haha. It felt like Kenadee was driving the truck in circles but we finally came to a stop. Instead of taking the bandana off, Kenadee and Olivia led me by the hand to where we were going (thankfully they didn’t let me fall). When we finally stopped walking and the bandana was off, I saw Chads cousin, Levi, holding the Milwaukee radio, playing mine and Chad’s song, Never Leave by Bailey Zimmerman. I instantly started laughing because Levi was not what I was expecting. He pointed to something behind me, so I turned around and there was Chad down on one knee. The tears instantly came as he simply asked me to marry him. It was the fastest and easiest yes of my life🩷