The end of one chapter is just the start of another..... I flew out to Southern California to help my mom with her move to Holly Springs, North Carolina to be closer to me and my boys. Mike and his family had purchased my childhood home and he graciously offered up some assistance during the move. While I was initially weary of this stranger who would knowingly sign up to help someone pack up all of their belongings, we instantly hit it off. Over the course of a long weekend, we packed 43 years worth of memories into seven shipping units bound for North Carolina. Throughout those four days we joked, we complained, and we may have occasionally cursed the sheer volume of the undertaking, but the two of us had the best time working together. We decided that despite the fact that we lived on opposite sides of the country, our fledgling friendship was something special and we should keep in touch.

What started as a long distance friendship eventually evolved into a long distance relationship. The two of us took multiple trips to visit one another and occasionally we would meet somewhere in the middle. One such "meet in the middle" occasion was a trip to Minneapolis, Minnesota for Mike's aunt's wedding. Up until this point, Mike had joked that I was free to run after meeting his family, but he had nothing to worry about. We both separately arrived in Minnesota and spent a long weekend visiting with Mike's extended family, attended a lovely, albeit cold, wedding ceremony for Sharon and her new husband Jeff, and explored downtown Minneapolis a bit. Monday morning rolled around, and we both had to face reality and head back to our respective lives. We headed to the airport and decided to sit down for lunch while waiting to board our flights. We had both habitually talked about our future together and living with one another, but Mike often talked about us being married, and this particular lunch was no exception. I looked at him and said something along the lines of "you can't assume we'll be married if you never ask." Without skipping a beat Mike asked me, right then and there in the middle of an St. Paul airport restaurant, to marry him and I happily agreed.

We have heard from our venue that we can still proceed with our wedding date as planned, but with a few changes. Specifically: - Our guest list has been reduced to adhere to North Carolina guidelines on public gatherings - Table sizes will be reduced to a maximum of 6 guests per table - Guests should try to maintain a distance of 6 feet from one another - Masks should be worn when not eating and when social distance of 6 feet cannot be maintained - No-contact temperature checks upon entry to the venue Additionally, Mike and I will ensure that hand sanitizer and extra masks are available throughout the wedding and the reception. If you are feeling unwell, please keep the health and safety of our other guests in mind.