Hmm…where to begin? My fellow hardworking Capricorns understand the joy of making lists and checking off accomplishments. It’s no wonder then that from a young age I’ve had a Franklin Planner, and I genuinely enjoyed the motivational and inspirational personal development books my father had around the house. You see, I was good at filling up my planner and crossing things off my to-do list. As COVID hit US shores, I was only a few months into a transition to a learning and development career - and for me, the only thing better than getting to learn something new is getting to share what I learn with someone else. So, on the career front, I was busy checking off items on my to-do list. Outside of work, I was equally as busy checking off items associated with my personal passions - spending quality time with friends and family, community service, creativity, spirituality, afrofuturism and of course international tv (telenovela, kdrama and Xianxia fans, please stand up). Then, during one of our family phone calls, my brother said, “This is it! COVID - it’s going to change everything!” I didn’t realize how right he was…COVID was scary, but it also cut my to-do list dramatically and presented an opportunity to reflect on what I really valued and what I really wanted. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I learn as much as I can from every experience. My mom would say, “Learn from other people. Life is too short to repeat mistakes." So, as social distancing and quarantining became necessary for keeping my loved ones safe, I decided to investigate those existential questions that we’re often too busy to sit with. That’s what led me to realize that while I had much to be grateful for and proud of, an important category was missing from my lists. This category was one I was eager to celebrate in the lives of my friends and family, and I was even captivated by it on tv, but I'd overlooked it in my own story. You know which category it was, it was the "start a family with an amazing partner" category.

In early 2020, I was living off of 16th Street in Washington D.C., very much enjoying my new life as a consultant, my new apartment in the city and all of the distractions that came with it. At the time, dating, romance, and love were not at the top of mind, but I had and have always known the caliber of woman that I was looking for. Even though I was ready to let her into my life, I was not spending the energy required to find her. I was unaware at the time that a true "act of God" would turn my undivided attention to the woman who I want to spend the rest of my life with! I truly believe COVID-19 was the "mysterious ways" which opened my life up to such joy meeting and being a partner with Amanda Moore. When COVID hit, all of the nice amenities in my apartment building were shut down. All of the craft cocktail lounges and gastropubs that dotted the DC area were way too risky to visit when there was no vaccine in sight. I couldn't even go to my office buildings or visit my family without risking our health and wellbeing! In this time, I no longer could distract myself from what I WANTED in my life! I wanted to spend time with my family! I WANTED to be in a loving and elevated relationship with a partner and equal! I even wanted to drink craft cocktails without paying $25 a drink to a bartender (if you saw me on Instagram, you saw the beginnings and endings of my craft cocktail phase!). All of those "wants" in the world, and I would have regretted them if I did not go for them. With such uncertainty in the world, how much effort would it be to put myself out there on a dating app, and intentionally look to date an awesome person who could be my future wife?...

Her Story: By fall 2020, I'd realized that I wanted to prioritize finding an amazing life partner. I'd started learning more about love and was being intentional about creating enough space to nurture the love that blossomed in my life. So the next step was to meet more people! Even though I was shy, I felt encouraged by the "signs" that started appearing in my life. A friend told me about a dating app Hinge, which was "designed to be deleted." On my YouTube feeds I kept getting "How to prepare for marriage" videos that I had not been searching for. And during a conversation with a dear friend, she said "Well, I guess with COVID, the only way to fall in love is old school - photos, calls and love letters.” The biggest push perhaps was attending a virtual wedding of two of the loveliest people I've met. There it was, evidence that during a global pandemic, two genuinely kind, caring and lovely people could start a life together. And how did they meet? Repeatedly during the ceremony we were told they met on Hinge. Hinge! It felt like signs were everywhere - pushing me toward something or rather someone? So, I grabbed my phone, and created a profile. And I'm so grateful that Busi did too... His Story: You COULD say that our relationship began as a misunderstanding! I actually did not MEET Amanda until 5 months after we first began talking to each other. Though I'd been on dating apps in the DC area for a while, I did not find anyone who I clicked with emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually with. For anyone who is unaware of how online dating works (at least when we were dating), both parties have to be interested and willing to start the conversation, before they let you converse! That is what is considered "Swiping Right!" and around November 2020, I discovered a woman named Amanda had swiped right on me, and I had swiped right on her! I was excited at the possibilities and curious about her inner and outer worlds, but only in theory, because I had been dating someone when I got the notification. (Explanation Time: You don't know someone has swiped right on you until you both swipe right. By then, you maybe found someone else that you swiped right on wants to meet...) January 2021, I received the equivalent of the "Hey" text from Amanda, and neither of us were dating anyone else. I had no idea that it would lead to THREE TO FIVE HOUR phone calls every Friday at 7pm, and soon every few days, for our Date Nights! It was February going to March, and I really wanted to meet her! But remember that "misunderstanding"? Even though in my head I had been against long distance relationships, I was already in one! I had assumed since my dating app was set only for "locals", Amanda was living close by. Imagine my surprise when she told me that she was actually in Syracuse with her mom... and my surprise, again, when I visited Manhattan, hoping to hop over to visit them! After a few more months and a few vaccines later, we agreed to meet at a Busboys and Poets in Takoma Park. When she walked in the door, her radiant smile greeted me before her words did...

On the morning of Sunday, July 2, 2023, I offered to drive Amanda and I to church, followed by brunch at the Hummingbird Bar and Kitchen in Old Town Alexandria, VA. What Amanda did not know was despite our numerous "wedding ring dates" to get ideas, by then I had purchased the ring, had the ring made and delivered, and showed it off to my parents the previous afternoon when I had to "run some errands"! 😁 On that Sunday morning when I picked Amanda up, I had told her that "something was going on with my knee". She didn't know that I had the ring in a slim, pop-up ring box in my suit coat pocket that she couldn't see! I had also done some research to see where there could be a quiet picturesque area to propose, and a friend of mine has said there is a small flower garden behind one of the historic houses that would be perfect. So after a rousing sermon at church, we traveled to Old Town and parked the car a bit of a ways away from the restaurant, but I knew a "shortcut" through the garden. It was (un)fortunate that my knee started "acting up" when I walked into the gazebo in the middle of the garden, and I fell down to my knee. Amanda reached down to see if I was ok, but I then turned around with my speech and my ring in hand, and... SHE SAID YES!