06.19.21

It started at Italian Fest, when I found out that some of the CBU girls I had been introduced to were in the tent across from ours. They introduced me to their friends, including a tall, curly-haired boy with Touchdown Jesus socks, who said his name was Sammy! When I got to CBU in the Fall I had forgotten all about Sammy, until I saw him & asked someone to reintroduce me. I thought that was where our relationship would begin. Wrong. After flirting, studying Spanish, going to parties, & a promising snapchat streak, he told me that he was not interested in me. I tried not to let it bother me. Then I asked him to semi-formal. I waited all night for a response, then all morning. I was confused when we ate together in the cafeteria for lunch & he still hadn’t responded or mentioned it. By that night, I had come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t going to go with me. Then I heard a knock at my door & found Sam outside. He began rambling that he was sorry he never responded, he didn’t want to lead me on or hurt me, & that he’d like to go with me if the offer still stood. After semi, it just seemed like a romantic relationship wasn’t in the cards for us. Until the Summer of 2016. We began talking more and got closer. By the end of that Summer, we were best friends & it seemed like a good place to be. When school started back in the Fall, he was in my dorm all the time to hangout. When people said he was interested in me, I was quick to brush it off. One night Sam asked me to hangout with some friends in his apartment. We were sitting together & he asked me to take a selfie on snapchat. I saw him open a snap from his sister that said “DATE HER” in response to our selfie. I watched him type out “Working on it!” & immediately knew he was going to be my next & last boyfriend. Two weeks later, we were officially a couple. Now we’ve been together for almost 4 years, & I really couldn’t be happier with how our life together has turned out so far. It was worth the wait.

I had known that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Mary for a very long time, I just had to find the right way and time to do it. My grandmother allowed me to use the ring my late grandfather had given her for their 20th wedding anniversary. The ring is almost 50 years old & needed some adjustments so my mom, grandmother, & I took it to get fixed up & updated. When they finished fixing it up, I left the ring at my parents house to keep it safe. The only problem was that every time I’d go visit them, I’d forget to take the ring back home with me, thus delaying the engagement process. I had made a plan to visit my parents, get the ring, & propose to Mary by scheduling a faux puppy photo shoot with our new dog & Sofia’s dog the last weekend in May, but that plan hit a snag. I got sick that week & was afraid that I had come down with Coronavirus, so I had to wait until my results came back to leave the house. Little did I know that going to get tested was something that was meant to happen. When Mary & I went to get me tested for COVID-19, we drove past a cute little gazebo & in that moment I knew that I needed to change my plans & propose there. Once I got better & tested negative for the virus, I got my plan together. I left early Saturday morning to meet my mom in Jackson, TN to get the ring. When I got back, I met with Sofia at the gazebo to make sure everything was ready to go for the big moment. When the time came, I got Mary in the car, blindfolded her, & drove in circles before reaching the final destination so she wouldn’t know where we were going. When we got there we walked down to the gazebo, I got down on one knee, & attempted to spill my guts out to the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Of course my speech didn’t go as planned, but I told her later what I really wanted to say to make up for it. It is truly the best decision I have made in my life & I am so happy to spend the rest of my life with Mary Roe!