We're Getting Married!

From the moment Qweyana & I met, we have been developing our story of #OnceUponaHines. Qweyana & I have always known each other but we never knew each other. We grew up in the same church & I would always see her & she would always see me. Back then, I don’t even think we were on one another’s radar. It was not until one moment, she walked into church and I saw her for the first time; like actually saw her. It was as if a caterpillar finally emerged from its cocoon & for the first time spread it’s beautiful wings. However, we did not end up talking at that point. I knew I would attempt to try to date her at some point in the far future but I guess God had other plans. Either that or Qweyana had other plans. She slid in my DM’s, which was way out of character for her. I figured she would sit back & wait for me to come to her, but I guess she got tired of waiting lol. September 22, 2017 she sent me a Facebook quiz result showing she was Qweyana Hines. She sent it to me jokingly, but I saw my opportunity. My plan was to wait for some more years for me to mature a little more, but when she sent that message, it was now or never. Ever since that one DM, we communicated literally everyday all day. I wasn’t even working anymore at my job. I would be too busy waiting on her text to come in so I can reply. I knew she would be the one without ever having a first date. However, on our planned first date she stood me up. I was pissed!

…...on our planned first date she stood me up. I was pissed! Her excuse was that she fell asleep. In my head, I figured if our first date was so unimportant to her that she can “fall asleep,” then maybe she not the one for me. Luckily, I did not quit there. The next week I drove out to her and knocked on her door for our second first date. She knew I was coming, but did not believe I was going to drive that far for her. Obviously she has never dated a Taurus. When we say we are going to do something, we do it. Long story short, our actual first date was amazing. We talked about so much and learned so much about one another. We talked about our dreams, hopes and aspirations. We talked about our past up to our present. There was literally nothing off limits. We were both so open and that’s what I loved the most. I instantly felt like I can trust her with the secrets of my heart. Of course she didn’t get all those secrets on the first date though. I wasn’t trying to scare her off lol. Luckily, as our relationship developed and we exposed more of ourselves to each other, she was not scared off. Funny thing is, we both thought we would scare the other off lol. Fast forwarding to June of 2018, I sat both my parents down on a Saturday afternoon and asked for their approval to marry Qweyana. I was terrified to ask because anyone who knows my father knows he does not give his blessing to anything less than excellent. He is a tyrant when it comes to giving his approval on marriage because he understands the sanctity and importance of the union. So if he would have said no, no one would be reading this story right now lol. My father and mother both said they would love to have Qweyana part of the family. The cherry on top is that my mother gave me her ring that my father gave her for their marriage. That was huge to me and I knew it would be huge to Qweyana as well.

My parents blessings + my mother's engagement ring = TIME TO PROPOSE! Fast forwarding to the day of the proposal, I knew that it had to be on a Tuesday when we have our relationship discussions. Every other Tuesday we have a date night with dinner and afterwards we sit on my porch and talk about literally everything. I knew she wouldn’t be expecting it and that was my goal. Although the nerves got to me and I messed up on my monologue before dropping to one knee, she said yes and the rest is history. I am so excited to see and experience our journey together. I never thought I would be getting married, but when you meet the girl of your dreams, it’s best not to wake up.

I have a vivid memory of first noticing Otto when I was a little girl. I was maybe 4 years old at the time when my family and I arrived to Sunday morning service. I saw him and his siblings heading inside of the church. I only knew that he was my pastor’s son. Fast forward to many years later, my grandmother and I attended an event at our church one evening. This man sits directly in front of me and sparks a conversation. He mainly asked me questions about college, my major, and how my classes were going and other things of that nature. Why was he making me so nervous? I don’t know! Eye contact was not my thing, and his eye contact game was strong! Lol. I tried my hardest to avoid it, but it was nearly impossible with his ongoing questions.( If you know Otto, then you know he is the king of questions.) Not to mention my grandmother is sitting right next to me, so I automatically thought this man was bold. He was so attentive to each of my responses. It went way over my head that day, but I guess that was his way of showing interest. We flirted on social media which seemed like a year. I would like and comment under a few of his posts sometimes. He would randomly go on a liking spree on my Instagram page from time to time. I believe that’s when I really started to take interest in Otto. I noticed that he had a great sense of humor and realized how handsome he was. The icing on the cake was that he was family oriented. Whatever confidence I thought I had back then to share a Facebook quiz result stating that my future last name would be Hines worked! He agreed that Qweyana Hines had a nice ring to it. There was such an instant connection either one of us could deny. I believe in God’s timing, so if he and I were meant to be I knew eventually it would happen. It happened. We went on our first date, he asked me to officially be his girlfriend on December 17,2018 and the rest was history.

A woman’s intuition never lies. Most of the day, I was having a weird feeling. I sensed a spiritual connection between us though we were apart. It was one of our Relationship Tuesday nights. This night is special to us because it allows Otto and I to get to know one another more. Normally, I would prepare something special for us to eat and afterwards we would allow our conversations to consume the night. We wouldn’t limit the topics which resulted in our conversations having a mind of their own. But I believe that’s what we intend for those nights to be. It was a night where we could be completely vulnerable and open with one another. The conversation was a little different that night. On Tuesday August 21, 2018 the man of my dreams asked for my hand in marriage. I will forever believe that God ordained Otto and I to come together. Although we’ve pretty much known each other all of our lives, I am looking forward to learning and growing together on our journey.

What are you to me? You are my alarm clock in the morning The coffee in my mug The B12 in my vitamins and the excitement to my day In other words, you are the reason I wake up The reason why I stay up And the natural high from you just being in my life In the mornings when you beat me to saying good morning, I smile so hard Because it shows me I wasn’t the only one thinking about the other. It seems too early to feel the way I feel about you It seems too soon to write about you But it seems so wrong to go a day without you. I hate the gaps in time we don’t text What is she doing? Is she thinking about me? Does she miss me? These are some of the questions that go through my head Obsessive, maybe a little But there is no in-between with me. Either I’m all in or all out I’m a bad gambler But I always gamble to win even win I lose I just make the bet on whatever my heart and feelings choose I may not always win, but when I do lose I lose knowing I gave my all So yes, I have tried my hand in love and so far, deeper in the hole I fall. But I just got dealt a new hand. Hopefully this time it’s I win for me.