Josh and I met at Samford University our Freshman year. At Connections, Samford's freshman welcome weekend event, we ended up hanging out with the same group. Being nervous about meeting new people (and idealistic), I had the grand idea to try to be super extroverted, meet tons of new people, and "reinvent myself" because...why not? New chapter, new you, right? All that to say, I was a little crazy and out-there at this particular outing. Apparently Josh was paying attention, and at some point in the evening, he came up to me and said, "You're obnoxious.. I like you!" Naturally, I took offense at that, but that's how I ended up on Josh's radar. We each became part of different friend groups, but they would occasionally overlap. At this point we were acquaintances, but not really anything more. One time that stands out to me is in January of 2014, a time that will forever be know as "Snowpocalypse". We spent the day together hanging out and playing in the snow, and it was lots of fun. This was the first time that we had really spent much time together one on one, and the beginning of a friendship.

Spring semester freshman year was really stressful. I (Mollie) was trying to balance 20 credit hours (including the homework that comes with that) plus rehearsals for Samford's "The Wizard of Oz". Oh and a social life? I was trying my best. I was also in a relationship that was not going well at the time; it was causing a lot of stress as long distance relationships tend to do. Well, one day, I was eating in the school's cafeteria when Ryan (our best man) and Josh sat down and joined me. I already knew Ryan from a summer camp senior year of high school. Josh knew him through Airforce ROTC. The three of us were eating when a panic attack decided to strike. I couldn't really talk or move because all my energy was focused on my breathing. The two of them had to practically drag me out of the Caf, and help me to a bench. Ryan stayed with me while Josh ran to his room to get me a stress tab vitamin supplement he swore by. After that, Josh never really left my side. He would constantly check on me. Around this time, rehearsals for "Wizard of Oz" ramped up, and so did life. I ended up breaking up with my boyfriend at that time, and Josh was there. He let me cry and vent. He helped after the show so I wouldn't hurt myself taking apart the set pieces. For my theater class, we had a final program called "Freshman Showcase." I ended up biting off more than I could chew. I had a paper due plus I had to make some props for this showcase. Of course, both were needed the same day. Josh was by my side as I pulled my first college all nighter. He gathered materials and napped on a couch while I finished my paper. Then he was by my side spray painting cardboard in the parking lot at 5:30am. This would not be the only time he offered moral support during my many late nights.

Let me make this clear. I was not interested in Josh as a potential boyfriend. He was a great guy. Amazing actually, but I friend-zoned him hard. I flat out told him that he scared me. He was really intense, seemed so sure of what he wanted, AND he had marriage eyes. I was in no way, shape, or form ready for that. That seemed like way too much for me to handle and by this point I was only a sophomore in college. That being said though, all of our friends said we acted like an old married couple. Well it was Christmas time, and Josh decided he wanted to take me to dinner as a Christmas gift. Though it wasn't originally a "date", looking back, we consider this our first date. We went to get sushi at Maki Fresh. Now I love Josh very much, and he is very full aware of what I am about to say. It was NOT a good first date. It started out well enough. The food was good and we were making small talk, but it began to go down hill not long after we finished eating. He began to ATTEMPT to explain quantum physics to me for the next 2 HOURS. He even went as far as to try and explain 11 dimensions..... on a napkin. He claims that this was his "test". If this didn't scare me off, I was probably a keeper. Meanwhile, I didn't know what to do with myself. After that evening, I swore up and down that I could never date him, nice as he was. If that was just dinner, imagine what being in a relationship would look like. A good friend? yes. But boyfriend? Heck no! Oh does God have a funny sense of humor...

Now if you have noticed the timeline, its been 3 years since Josh first expressed interest in me, But I was not having it. We probably had a chat every 8 months or so just to make sure were were still on the same page. I didn't want to lead him on even though by this point he was my best friend, and I turned to him for everything. I was stubborn and had some unrealistic ideas about my future romances. Well finals time rolled around, and it was cold and flu season. Josh caught a cold and was oh, so kind enough to share it with me. It developed into walking pneumonia. I was trying to get over that when I also got food poisoning the weekend before finals. I was a mess. Tuesday, I had a lot of stomach pain and kept dry heaving and hacking up my lungs. Josh took me to the ER right away. The nurse came in to start a IV. I was super nervous, so she made some small talk. All the while, Josh was holding my hand to try to keep me calm. N- So who is this with you? Is this your boyfriend? Me- Oh no. He's just a friend. N- Mmhmm... Well he looks like he wants to be more than that! Me- Yeah, no. We have already had this talk. N(teasingly)- oh! I see... you're giving him the run around. By this point she was done with the IV, and left the room by giving us a little smirk/knowing smile. Those words stuck with me. I began to think about all we had been through. He had seen me at my best and now worst. Trust me, sitting next to someone while they're throwing up/gagging is NOT attractive. Why was I holding off for a future of "what if" when I had someone amazing right here? I decided I didn't want to risk losing him. So that Wednesday night December 8th, we were talking. I stopped, looked at him, and kissed him. His response was, "Well then!". By the end of that conversation we were officially boyfriend and girlfriend. Unfortunately I ended up back in the ER that Friday, but we got to see that nurse and tell her we were dating. She was tickled pink.

So Josh and I did almost two years of our relationship long distance. He took a 5th year at Samford, and then worked for a bank in Birmingham for a year. Meanwhile, I worked in Huntsville for a year then decided to go back to school to become a nurse. Our goal was to eventually end up together in Huntsville, but it was taking some time. I just sort of figured that he would probably propose once we were finally in the same city. Little did I know, he had other plans for us. As Valentine's Day was approaching, I was busy working in the perfume department at Dillard's and studying for a big test. Valentine's Day is one of the biggest days for the counter, so of course I was scheduled to work that day. Josh and I decided to celebrate the weekend after. That was my scheduled weekend off, and my test would be over with. About a week before Valentine's, my manager came up and told me that she needed to shift me to working the two days before Valentine's because she expected them to be busier. That was fine with me because then that gave me Valentine's day off. I immediately called Josh, and we redid our plans. I would drive to Bham so we could spend the day together under the condition that I HAD to get some studying done. I arrived in Bham late Feb, 13th. The next morning, I spent the morning studying while Josh was working from home. I was in the zone, so I didn't notice if anything was amiss or not. It finally came time for our lunch date. I got ready, and he drove us to Red Pearl. This is our go-to place to celebrate Chinese New Year, and it just so happened it and Valentine's Day were close together. On the way there, I was still looking over some papers, so again I am in my own little world. We arrive and I admire the little decorations. Once seated, I open the menu and start trying to figure out what I want. Josh started to look at the menu. He stopped, put it down, then exhaled. He said, "I was going to do this after the meal, but I'm going to do this now."

Josh reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a white envelope. He put it on the table and looked at me. "Inside is your Valentines Day present, but you can't open it yet. I have to ask you something first." I'm a little perplexed so I just said, "okay??" He said something along the lines of, "Somebody promised you a Thursday lunch, but they were unable to fulfill that promise. I hope you'll accept this lunch on her behalf. This is also hers." He then reaches yet again into his coat and pulls out a dark box and stands up. I watch him get down on his knee and my mind is going, "ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshOHMYGOSH" I somehow manage to hear him say "Mollie Beth Love will you marry me?" I tugged him up off the floor, nodding, and hugging him. Apparently I forgot to say "Yes!" I was just kind of in shock. I realized at some point that he was talking to me. "Babe. Babe, is that a yes? Babe, I need to hear the words." I finally got the word "Yes!" out after a second. His fingers were trembling so bad when he was putting the ring on my finger. I was busy looking at the ring. It was SO shiny. He asked, "Do you like it? I hope you do. It was hers." and I go, "HER WHO?!?" He looks me in the eye and said, "Mollie, your grandmother." Everything clicked then, and I just started bawling. Backstory: My grandmother passed away from pneumonia. She was admitted to the hospital on a Saturday evening. The last time we visited her when she was conscious/lucid , she said "Bye! I'll see you Thursday!" Our family normally took her for weekly Thursday lunches. That was the last thing I heard her say. She passed away Wednesday morning. I struggled with how opened ended her last words were. Josh remembered that years later. The diamond in my engagement ring is the diamond that was in my grandmother's engagement ring. I was shocked. Once I was finally able to calm down, Josh was telling me how he got the diamond from my mom, about the time our waiter came up and told us our lunch was paid for.

The timing of it all made it feel as though it was grandma's way of still looking over me and showing her approval. It is hard to explain. So of course, that made me bawl again. There were many happy tears. Josh even came prepared and brought me a handkerchief. He then had me open up the white envelope that was long forgotten on the table. Inside were two tickets to our church's marriage conference that following Friday and Saturday. It is for engaged and married couples only which is why I had to wait to open it. He said he wanted to start our marriage journey off right. I was super happy! To top it off, he pulled out another white envelope with news that he had just received a promotion, AND approval to work remotely from Huntsville! We needed to start looking for our first apartment. Talk about mental overload. It took me days to process everything! Come to find out, he had snuck into my work a while back and told my manager his plans. She got me off, so all of his plans would come together perfectly. I am still amazed. I legitimately had no idea. He did well. He did so well.

Josh designed my ring himself. He used my grandmother's diamond. The stone is in a hexagonal setting because we both like clean symmetrical shapes. It is very mathematical/science-like which is how our minds work. The core design was based off of the antique style that my grandmother was fond of, with elements of his mother's engagement ring. Both of our rings have the center stone with two small triangles on either side. He added some extra little diamonds within the triangles because I love sparkles. The engraving on the ring is of orange blossoms which was chosen because they originate in China, like me. The band itself is of two strips that overlap on each side of the setting. This represents the journey our relationship. For a short time we separated and then we did the long distance, but we have always managed to come back together again. Its like a promise. Look at what we have overcome. No matter what we go through, we'll come out together on the other side. It's as though our lives are being shaped together by a master craftsman, with an ornate grand design.