It was girl’s night. You know, the last place you’re expected to meet your future husband. We met through a friend of a friend. I was out celebrating my friend Goldie’s birthday, and Goldie was friends with Rick, who was out having a few beers with Stephen. Stephen and I credit our relationship to Rick, and we are deeply grateful to him. The three of us evolved into a happy family, as friends and eventually roommates for many years. Goldie and I ran into them as we were leaving the bar. I told Stephen and Rick they should join us across the street where Goldie and I were going to dance. Once there, I grabbed a drink, went straight to the middle of the dance floor, and a few minutes later, Stephen was standing right behind me. I walked up to him and said, “you’re going to dance with me!” He didn’t object. We danced most of the night, exchanged numbers, and planned a brunch date the next day. Stephen and I had wildly different opinions about when brunch starts. I was pretty sure he had stood me up, when at 2 PM, he finally asked me to grab coffee. I met him at Starbucks, and we spent nearly four hours talking and getting to know each other. Then, we hung out the next night, and a few days after that, and so on and so forth until what was supposed to be a fun summer fling turned into something much more. And I’m happy to report that he now knows when brunch begins.

Eleven years later, we took a trip to Alaska. Stephanie did not know I bought a ring two months before with a plan to get engaged in the most magical way...beneath the artic sky, on a glacier surrounded by just the slow crashing waves and the sled dogs. Unfortunately, that didn't happen due to weather conditions. My two backup plans didn't work out either. I scrapped the idea of proposing on a small boat surrounded by humpback whales, feeling it was generally ill advised. Then, I was going to propose in the Tongass Rainforest, but our tour was cut short when we learned it was bear mating season, and the bears were spotted wandering the trail paths. At our last stop in Ketchikan, I found a historic trail called “Married Man's Trail” that seemed fortuitous, overlooking historic Creek Street. After climbing an endless set of stairs leaving us both out of breath, I asked her to look at the view from the nearby overlook. Nerves and butterflies overtook me even after all these years, as I got down on one knee and prepared a speech to propose. I was only able to get through the first sentence before being overcome by tears of joy. I realized it was never about the destination of where to propose, it was the many journeys we had been on all these years that had been the greatest adventure of all, and a lifetime of adventures together was all I could ever hope for. Stephanie later told me that the name of that trail had a different historic meaning than what I originally thought. Apparently, it’s the trail married men used to sneak away from the brothels. But thankfully, she said yes anyway! We’re so excited to share this next adventure with all our family and friends.