We talked for two weeks almost nonstop. I finally agreed to meet Josh in person. He couldn’t wait until dinner to see me, and asked to see me for lunch. I talked the whole time, and he listened. He will assert that I tried to kiss him in the parking lot, but I honestly just wanted a hug. A few hours later I met him for dinner and ended up hanging out the whole night. We talked non-stop for more than four hours and it felt like no time at all had passed. I saw him the next day and at least once a week for the next two months. In October, we decided we both needed some space to grow and it was better to just be friends. We did slowly became good friends over the next few months. He joined my very small friend group after my annoying, constant insistence that he should go out and be social. I’m not sure if he was coming for the socializing, the free drinks, or for me, but I was just glad he was there. I suddenly realized in January that I was falling for him and soon after he asked if we should get back together. We met up at iHop and made it official. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to us, this was February 20th, 2020, less than a month before the world shut down from the pandemic. We didn’t see each other for almost six weeks. As we navigated the new world we were living in, we were also navigating learning how to be in a real relationship with each other. Come August 2020, Josh’s lease was up and he made the decision to move back home to Mission Viejo, California, so we did long-distance for a long while. Lots of texting, driving back and forth, and difficult conversations over FaceTime held us together until January of 2021. I broke down and told Josh it was breaking my heart more and more every time we had to leave each other. He made a decision right then and told me he was going to move to Arizona to be with me. The next five months were filled with apartment tours, budgeting over FaceTime, and approving design choices over text. We finally moved into our first apartment together with my cat, Gigi in June. At the end of that August, we added our second cat, our sweet Charlie girl. I’ve never seen Josh look at anything with more care than when he looked at Charlie. On May 7th, 2022 Josh asked me to marry him, and I said yes. You can find the details of that story below. I love Josh more every single day and there is no one I’d rather raise our cats with. He is my person, and I can’t imagine my life without him. I can’t wait to marry him.

From bonding over TV shows to making each other Spotify playlists, there wasn't a day we didn't talk, and I quickly started tiring of the screen always inbetween us. Our work schedules finally synced up, and we planned to go and get dinner. All the waiting and excitement got to me quicker than dinnertime did, so I asked if she would want to just get lunch at Chipotle. Even in person Meghan was so easy to talk to -- though I mostly just listened. I wouldn't be able to tell you a single thing we (she) talked about, I think I was too distracted by how pretty she was. She always talks about how much quieter I was in person than she thought I would be from our conversations over text. Despite my worst efforts and thanks to Meghan's social skills, lunch went well and we met up again for dinner a couple hours later, which went even better. We met for lunch again the day after that, and every week from then on we would see each other at least once or twice. Our relationship bloomed quickly, but I began to doubt if I was even ready for a relationship. In October I let my foolishness get the best of me, and I told her that I thought it would be best if we were just friends. Dumb. Though Meghan had every reason to block me and move on, we still talked occasionally over the next couple of months, and our friendship was repaired and continued to grow. We started hanging out more and more, and the more that we did the more I started to realize how much of a fool I was. We agreed to get together and talk about us at this cute little local diner named iHop. February 20th, 2020, our relationship was rekindled. Less than a month later, our daily routines and social lives were laid low by the COVID pandemic, and we were distanced from each other for a lot longer than I would have liked. Though almost everything about our lives was changed, Meghan remained as a constant in my life and we eventually fell in love. By the time my lease ended in August I was sick of my job and tiny apartment, so I decided to make the move back home to California. Not quite so eager this time around to end things with Meghan, we agreed to continue our relationship over long-distance. While at first it seemed like it would be okay, I quickly started to realize just how much I missed having her around. We took alternating trips across state lines to visit each other every month, and FaceTimed whenever we could, but I still wasn't feeling whole. After spending Christmas and New Years together and the time came for us to part again, I knew that I wouldn't be able to take the distance for too much longer. Before she left to go back home, we decided that we wanted to live together in Arizona. In June, we moved into our first apartment together, and I was bestowned upon the honor of Cat Dad to Meghan's spoiled princess cat, Gigi (she brought me a hair scrunchie as a gift on one of the very first nights). Soon after we added a new member to our family, Charlie, a little baby girl kitten that Meghan rescued from her work. Living with these three girls has brought me the most love any joy I have ever felt in my life. The following May, I (very clearly and without any tears) asked Meghan to marry me, and she said yes! There isn't a single day that goes by that I don't want to be by Meghan's side for every second, and could never imagine a more perfect partner than her. I'm so excited for her to become my wife, and can't wait for all the thousands of days to come in our journey together.

We went to a nice italian place in Scottsdale, called Olive + Ivy. It was lovely, and we sat outside in the nice weather where we could see the palm trees and the canal rushing by. After eating dinner and gelato for dessert, we walked with the canal for a few minutes, and Josh was walking so fast I had to ask him to slow down since I was in heels. He had the people I love most there and he asked me surrounded by roses and candles in front of a fountain. I picked my own ring months prior, finding it after literal hours of searching online for the perfect vintage ring to send him. Everything about that night was so lovely and wonderful. Unsurprisingly if you know me, I ended up losing the diamond from my ring a month later, and having to pick and set a new one. Now I love it even more. We have taken our time planning our wedding, setting a date over two years from our engagement. Rather than rush to jump from this stepping stone, we are taking it as another stage in our relationship, enjoying our time planning the wedding and knowing we are each other's future. We have known for a while now that we are meant to spend our lives together, and engagement for us is a tangible representation of that. <3