we're getting married!

Although we can never be sure of an exact date Sage and Dustin first met, they do have quite a few aligning memories. Their earliest memories of each other start back in 2014 with a church van ride... This was a transition for Sage from something called "His Kids" into the bigger kids "Youth Group." Sage climbed on the van after school to see a bunch of faces, unknowingly looking over their future life partner...

Possibly one of the oddest accounts we have discovered together, Dustin has this memory... Sage was standing near the lockers talking to another student. They were wearing a fuzzy light purple jacket. No clue why that was the detail Dustin noticed... From early on in our relationship we've made jokes about how long we've known each other, and all the countless ways our lives have connected. Constantly weaving in and out of each others timeline, we've recounted a variety of different instances where we were withing feet of each other and didn't even know we were soulmates! The Fuzzy Jacket just happens to be a memory Dustin recounted recently, and we actually found an image of THE jacket!

Not that Sage knew at the time, but they met the cheater in school and initially clicked. Hoping to make friends, Sage went to the cheater's house where they bumped into Dustin and got reacquainted again! This was around the time the two soulmates fully exchanged social media and phone numbers! This was the start of a much short time lapse between intertwining of their timelines, finally on path to fuse together!

After a much shorter gap of communication, the cheater, Dustin's (now ex) wife, reached out to Sage to hang out again. What started as a Mikotos hangout, turned into moving her and Dustin into Sage's house. The house where Sage lived with their (now ex) fiancé. That same week, we ended up with four humans, four cats, two dogs, a snake, a rat, a chameleon, and a tarantula all under one roof. It felt like a zoo with carpet and 70s vertical wood wall paneling... Just as everyone was getting settled into the new living arrangement, Dustin got a deployment call. It was a household effort getting Dustin packed up and everything figured out for ship out. Sage and the cheater drove Dustin to Fort Worth for paperwork and CAC renewal, and they went back home. With Dustin gone, figuring out life on deployment, Sage noticed the cheater acting different. After a few conversations with Dustin, it didn't take long for them to find the proof they needed. (don't worry, we still have it) To all surprise, Dustin attempted to forgive her and repair his marriage, but Sage refused to live with the cheater any longer so... they moved back out.

After many-MANY incidents, Dustin was finally divorced and moving on, he was making plans for his future. With a new puppy and a busy schedule, he didn't think much would change. Meanwhile, Sage was busy trying to plan their wedding!.. maybe? Still with the same guy, still no progress on when/if they were ACTUALLY getting married, or was that proposal just to make it easier for him to get out of his dads house? Who knows... Seeming to only move further and further away from each other, both Sage and Dustin spent plenty of time wondering if they were doing the right thing...

November was a rough month for both Dustin and Sage. Dustin had been broken up with out of no where, and Sage was grieving their Grandmother... Luckily, Dustin and Sage sparked a small conversation on snapchat that led to Sage inviting Dustin to a haunt work party that weekend! The first plans of the year that actually went through! After the party, Sage's (ex)fiancé went to work, and the two got drunk and talked about everything... well almost everything... Sage kept a few things to themselves in hope of repairing their own relationship.

With a broken engagement, Sage decided that moving into their best friend's apartment couldn't be that bad. They also thought selling their only vehicle and having to dropping their consistent income would be smart... Sage was alone in the metroplex... starting over. Meanwhile, Dustin had gone to Drill one weekend and decided to stay in the metroplex and start over... Although they didn't realize at first, they were close enough to hang out! So the two made plans, and Dustin picked Sage up for Pluckers! (which neither of them knew if this was just a hang out, or a date) They hit it off right away and ended up spending the night together! They stayed up talking about life and what lead them both to the metroplex. Since they had already known of each other for years and had been close off and on, it wasn't hard for either of them to open up. Sage shared their feelings about breaking off an engagement, and the mental toll the past two years had been. Dustin shared why he thought his marriage could be repaired. How he thought the way the cheater acted was something he would just have to put up with to make things work. They shared in consoling each other and reassuring that none of those things are things to be tolerated in lasting relationships. As Dustin was driving to work the next day, Sage sent a text asking, "When can I see you again... if that's okay?" and sure enough...

The two became inseparable. Only being away from each other when Dustin had to report for Drill weekends with the Army National Guard. They spent a lot of time together, talking about everything, communicating about feelings, and even working through getting Sage's name off all their ex's bills and accounts. Sage and Dustin were already setting up the foundations for good communication in a healthy relationship. It only made sense for Dustin to ask reassurance that he wasn't a rebound, Sage had only left their ex on the 3rd! So of course they talked in depth about Sage's feeling and if given the chance, would they go back... and it's safe to say that they would never, because Sage and Dustin finally decided to make it official on January 13th 2023!

Since the couple got together while starting fresh, they spent the first few months together traveling between McKinney and Arlington. Although this period was brief, it was difficult and it put the new relationship through a lot. Of course the couple was getting tired of the constant couches and decided to finally give in to Dustin's mom's insistent requests to come home. At first, that was just the spare room, but eventually they moved into the RV out back. Just something a little more roomy and private! They spent some time getting comfortable, setting boundaries, spending time together, visiting Dallas, and finding some friends to spend time with! Things were good, but why stop at good? Always trying to better their lives, the couple went on the hunt for something new and not their hometown. With the help of a few good friends, the Dustin and Sage moved to Tyler! A new little community was just what the two needed!

After a whole year of being together, living together, and caring for their animals together, Dustin and Sage planned for a photoshoot to celebrate their anniversary together! Little did Sage know, Dustin was preparing to pop the big question! Of course Sage said yes, duh...

Dustin and Sage whole heartedly believe this theory is intertwined with their souls... In every lifetime, it will always be you...