We Are Tying The Knot

Love can be something of a paradox- the more you pursue it, the more it will evade you. It would seem at times that only after you have given up all hope of finding it, will love manifest before you. As was the case on the 21st of February, the day Michael and Lauren first met. The day that everything changed.

From the moment our eyes met, something changed. There was an immediate moment of clarity, the lights seemed brighter, the air seemed charged with energy. I instantly knew, whoever this person was, she was important in my life- that in some form or fashion, I needed to find out what that meant. Despite having an immediate connection with Lauren, I would spend 18 months trying to convince myself that Lauren was just a friend who I just had amazing chemistry with. I’d live with the conflict of knowing it’s probably not moral to eagerly check the schedule for when you’d see your work-friend again. On the days I’d see her.. my heart felt at peace. My mood would lighten. We’d laugh, and talk about all the mistakes we made in our past. We would cheer each other up when we were feeling down. We gave each other heartfelt advice on how to overcome issues in our separate relationships. People around us would start to point out how close we were. So close, in fact that, our charge nurse who managed the schedule, began assigning us positions opposite of each other on shift, just to keep us from getting distracted. Towards the end of each shift, when it was time to restock supplies, we could share an earbud and listen to music together as we worked. I looked forward to her high spirits and crazy stories, and I'd tell her all the philosophy I was considering that day. The most boring, mundane task at my job was what I looked forward to most, because it meant I would be near Lauren. These feelings inevitably caused me to make changes in my life. Each day was a struggle that had to happen as I began a path that was wholly uncharted. One day… I got my confirmation that I wasn't alone in my feelings. The message I read in Lauren’s eyes was exactly what I had thought it was... That was when my entire universe shifted. I had spent all my life making a plan for myself and trying to chart a path I wanted. Whether you consider yourself spiritual or not- the circumstances surrounding the events that followed are far too purposeful to call it chance. It was only after I gave up and let God steer for me, that my life seemed to finally start.

On February 21, it was my first night shift at Houston Methodist Hospital Sugar Land. I arrived at work on time and was sitting in the break room for our pre-shift huddle waiting to be assigned my preceptor (the person who was going to train me). The person who was assigned to me was this tall guy with a mask and nursing cap on, he introduced himself as Michael Stai. He was an excellent preceptor; he made things fun and interesting throughout the night. As the night went on I could feel the chemistry between us, and curious me is trying to get a closer look at his badge picture to see how he looked underneath the mask. It was a very long time before I saw him without a mask on, and an even longer time without a nursing cap on. I became friends with this tall guy with green eyes, who drove from Tomball to Sugarland to work at Methodist ER (I always thought it was a long way to drive when there was a Methodist closer to where he lived). As time went on our friendship grew stronger. I would look for his car in the parking lot and get excited when he was working. He made work so much more fun and exciting, like working with your best friend. We would take patients up together, and I'd ride on the stretcher on the way back down. We would stock the ER together and he would share one of his air pods with me so we could listen to music together. After we had a long shift, we would grab breakfast and he would talk about his beliefs and theories of life and existence (he can be quite the talker). Our friendship really blossomed into something grand. I started to wonder if this could be something more. It was after I had come home from a family vacation that I started to realize this was more than just a friendship. I had developed strong feelings for him that I could not deny. We both overjoyed to find out that we shared these feelings for one another! Eventually we had moved into our first apartment together, and the rest has been history. Every day is filled with love and laughter. One of the best decisions I ever made in my entire life.