Rebekah and I met through some of our best friends, Lelia and Tyler, at a timely date of New Year's Eve of ‘22. However, it was a slow burn, with the first date not being until about six months later, July 2023. Of course, if you ask Rebekah, the story really began a few months earlier than the New Year, briefly at church one evening, where I was immediately someone she could not forget, while I say it began on the first date at Rope Mill Park on July 17th (but I didn’t use the word “date”). Though the start of the story remains unclear, the events following, were not uncertain by any meaning of the word. Instantly connected, the months flew by with countless hikes through the woods in search of waterfalls, perusals of local antique shops, and chats at little country burger joints, seven trips to the Georgia Aquarium, and at least three new Indian restaurants. Eventually, we made it all the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma for Thanksgiving with my family. After all that I had seen in Rebekah, in how she treats others, especially children, seeing her blend so nicely with those I love, it was only confirmed it for me, and I bought a ring before we even got on the plane back to Georgia. So when New Year's Eve ‘23 came around, and I was making coffee for Rebekah to stay up for the NYE ball once again. It was a recreation of a special moment, one she says she will never forget, when I made my way to her heart through a Waffle House mug full of freshly brewed coffee, sitting at the same counter where we had met just one year prior. Little did she know, there was a ring a few rooms over in a little box tucked away under my bed. Shortly after, in February, I planned to go back to that first day in July, to reflect on all that had been said and done in the time we've dated, but also to ask a very important question about the rest of our future. We went to Local on North in Canton, even ordering the same thing, but before we could go across the street to the ice cream store we had visited when it was actually warm enough for such things, we stopped off at the little gazebo in the middle of downtown. I got a little dust on my right knee, and we both got a bit of "dust" in our eyes (although, allegedly, I had a bit more in mine) as I asked her to spend the rest of her life in marriage with me. She says it was the easiest "yes" she has ever given, and a yes every day for the rest of our lives.