It all started in the first grade at Milwaukee Spanish Immersion School. It was my first day at this new school and let's just say I was not taking it very well. I was in tears because everything was so new and unfamiliar. I walked into my new classroom clinging onto my dad's leg (Todd's first memory of me/first time seeing me) still in tears because I didn't want to be left alone. I eventually adjusted and went to that school all the way through 5th grade. I honestly knew of Todd, but never really had any interactions with him that I can recall. Later on I found out that Todd had tried to call me Mariposa and I angrily told him that "He was not allowed to call me that and only my friends could." I promise I don't have any recollection of this. He had also seen me playing by myself on the playground various times which mostly consisted of playing with dirt and picking flowers. Unbeknownst to me, he really had his eye on me. After the 5th grade, my family moved around a couple of times and Todd and I had no contact whatsoever besides being friends on facebook for a short time before I deactivated my account for a few years. He said he thought about me quite frequently and even tried looking for me on other social media platforms and it was as if I had just disappeared. Until November 15th, 2013, when I reactivated my facebook page and posted an updated photo. His comment "Cute :)" is what started it all. From there we chatted/texted once in a while and fell off again for a few months. I eventually gave him my phone number and we pretty much texted/called each other every day. I fell for Todd almost immediately. He's definitely a smooth talker for sure, but I always felt his feelings for me were genuine. On May 16, 2014, we made things official, and I couldn't have been any happier. The only thing that wasn't the greatest is at the time I was living in South Bend, IN and he was living in Milwaukee, WI. We had quite a few people doubt our relationship would last because of the distance and because we were so young, but we were determined. We eventually got to the point where we were wanting to see each other, but because we didn't have cars, we had to get creative. Our first date was on October 3rd, 2014. We both took the train to Chicago (a good halfway point for the both of us) and went to the movies and had dinner. I was head over heels, giddy, and giggly the entire time. We continued to meet in Chicago for a few months to get to know and be comfortable with each other. After that, we decided to take the plunge and meet one another's family. Everything went extremely well. Todd was welcomed by my family with open arms and I was welcomed by his in the same manner. We had remained in a long distance relationship for about 3 years and things go to a point where it was just getting too difficult because of the distance. I made one of the most difficult decisions and left home to move to MKE to be closer to him. Things didn't go as planned and we hit a bump in the road. I wound up moving back home. A few months later things between us were better and I made the decision to move back to MKE. Fast forward a few years later, we have been together for 8 almost 9 years. We have grown together in so many ways, and our relationship was in the best state it could be in. On June 4th, 2022 Todd told me he was going to run an errand and would be back home. I was aggressively cleaning our home, so when he got back. I was super disheveled. Out of nowhere he put on the song Unthinkable by Alicia Keys ( our song) and said "let's dance". I was super confused because this was very much unlike him, but I happily obliged. We danced and I started getting emotional because memories of our relationship started to flood. He spun me around and when I turned back to face him, he was on his knee and asked me to marry him. I immediately burst into tears because I have been waiting for this very moment. I of course said yes. Today, tomorrow, and forever.