Our story begins with one simple FaceTime call. Caitlin (Jack's sister) called Isabelle (Erika's sister) one night. That same night, Erika happened to be at Isabelle's apartment. Caitlin mentioned that Jack is currently in the Navy, where he is in boot camp with no phone and can only communicate via letters. Erika asks, "Who sends him letters?" to which Caitlin replies, "I think only my parents". As a result, Erika, Isabelle, and Caitlin all brainstormed the idea of having Erika send him a letter to check in... that started everything. Less than a year later, Jack had been talking to his parents about really liking this girl, while Erika was secretly telling her mom how she really liked this boy. One weekend, Jack's parents, Susan and Jason, had to bring Jack's passport to him due to the fact that he was getting deployed to Greece a few months later. They thought it would be a good idea to bring Erika with them, but not tell Jack, and surprise him! Erika tagged along, and after a three-plus-hour drive, they pulled off the surprise and that same day, Erika and Jack started dating. Erika and Jack's parents traveled back up to Pensacola to celebrate Jack's graduation. Jack graduated A-School at NAS Pensacola to become an Air Traffic Controller. He completed this schooling in 6 months, whereas outside of the Navy, it typically takes four years or more. He is one smart guy! We only had 12 days together before he deployed, so we spent lots of time together. We had to cherish the moments we had together before we were over 3,000 miles apart! The worst day in our relationship at that time was March 6th, 2024. We had to say goodbye for over a year. We were in time zones that were six hours apart, and we were 3,000 miles away. Erika's mom said, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder." Little did we know, it sure did, but in the meantime of waiting for that year to be over, it was one of the hardest times in our relationship. Even though we were thousands of miles apart, Jack would still send Erika gifts to let her know he was thinking of her and vise versa. Erika continued to pursue her passion of working in Medicine. She became an MA at an Orthopedic office and got the opportunity to shadow surgeries with the Foot and Ankle team! Shout out to Dr. O'Daly and Dana!! Jack continued to pursue his passion for working in the Aviation field as an Air Traffic Controller. After Jack came home from Greece, every other weekend, we would alternate. Erika would either drive/fly to Pensacola, since at that time, Jack was in school, or Jack would drive/fly to Erika's apartment. It was so fun! The day finally came, June 18, 2025. Jack asked Erika to marry him in the beautiful Washington, D.C., in front of the Washington Monument. The BEST day in their relationship! This was the last weekend we shared before Jack got deployed to sea. Now we can count down to him coming home so we can get married!