dreaming of May

Our story doesn't begin much differently than a lot of couples : A guy meets a girl at a party, he gets her number, a week later they are on their first date... and from there the rest is history. But come on… if you know me, you know I watch wayyy too many RomComs to be telling the story like that. And if you know Mark, you know he has the best way of finding the excitement in the small details and the serendipity of life. (You can see how well we fit together… I dream of the movie perfect moments and Mark points them out to me everyday.) So we would tell it like this... Well… I'll start! At the University of South Carolina, I was a Junior on the Women's soccer team. This isn't where I began my collegiate career, and if I had listened to all the people that doubted me, it wouldn't have been where I ended that career either. Mark was... yes, a freshman. Barely a week into summer semester and going into his first fall on the Men's soccer team (I know it's getting cute!!). But it wasn't a straight path for Mark to Carolina either. He was originally committed to play at the University of New Mexico, whose program out of the blue was shut down that same year. Which would have out him 1,674 miles from South Carolina. But on this night Mark found himself on a 2 minute walk from his new college apartment to a random party, and our seemingly unconnected paths collided. It was June 28th 2019, I threw on the jean shorts, laced up the vans sneakers, layered the gold necklaces, and headed out for the night. Mark on the other hand was clearly not planning to go out that night, and certainly not thinking about meeting the love of his life... so he went with a black t-shirt, a black hat, and... SLIDES. But unlike when he still to this day tries to wear the slides to dinner... this night I couldn't even be amused by his footwear of choice. I just knew : I wanted to talk to him. I truly do remember the exact moment when he walked in. It felt like gravity pulled us together instantly. I couldn't tell you the exact amount of time from when he walked in the door until we fell to the outskirts of the party, immersed only in the conversations between us. But it feels like seconds when I think about it now. I know I went up to him first. I don’t know what prompted the confidence that night, but I can say that it speaks volumes to the tone of our relationship to this day. Mark has always had a way of making me feel confident, even from his very first look. It’s fun thinking back on this night. Seeing now how our lives were so changed by party. How it makes me consider my stance on love at first sight. I don’t remember everything we talked about but I remember two big takes from the night... 1. I did NOT know he was a freshman... funny how that never came up, and 2. It didn't even matter. I was hooked. Mark would tell it more like this

I remember getting back from a summer workout and hearing the women’s soccer team was hosting a party that night. I was not interested in going to this women’s soccer party whatsoever, we had met a few of them the day before and let's just say I wasn’t feeling eager to continue any of those conversations. My roommates convinced me to go and funny enough, I remember wearing just a black South Carolina shirt, backwards Nike hat, and some white Nike shorts as if I was dressing to let people know I didn’t want to be there; I think I may have even been wearing slides (lol). That’s when we headed over, little did I know, I had just made the best decision of my life. At some point during the party the stars aligned. I was talking to one of my friends when this super cute girl in a black tank top, jean shorts, and vans… with the most beautiful smile came over to introduce herself. We quickly were deep in conversation and all the shyness and nervousness I had to not ruin my chance with her quickly faded away. We clicked instantly and it felt like I had known her forever. I remember telling her about my Aunt Kellee living nearby and her saying “Oh so you’re familiar with the area?”. That’s an irrelevant detail but at the time I thought it was a kind of funny way to word that sentence at a party. Looking back, it makes perfect sense because now Mere says subtly weird stuff now that catches my attention, like how she says “phone” or “I would agree” or “bookbag”. Back to that night - fast forward, everyone starts heading downtown, and Mere asked if I was coming. I had forgotten what I was wearing and had no way to get downtown. It was a mad dash to throw on some ripped jeans and a different shirt to find a way to see her again that night. Thankfully, it worked out and we picked up right where we left off - laughing and talking and ignoring everyone else in the room. Mere even figured out I didn’t know any lyrics to a single song… except for Hotel Room Service by Pitbull (which is still pretty much true). The next day, my roommates and I began talking about the night. The first thing said was, “So, you and Meredith seemed to really click”. I kind of tried to play it cool. I was already in deep, they all knew it, and so did I. Looking back, that night and everything that led me to South Carolina, truly shows that everything happens for a reason. So many things in the universe had to work out perfectly for Meredith and I to be in the same place that night. Ever since I’ve been so thankful to have met my favorite person in the world. For us both - It is astonishing to think about all the little moments that had to line up just perfectly to build the path to one another. But we follow a perfect God that we know laid that out that way just for us. And here we are ready to take our first steps down another path... the aisle!!! And we can not wait to see what God has instore for us forever!