After thirty or so months together, I knew I wanted to marry Samiah but when and how was a great debate. Flashforward to the engagement, the best man sings Donny Hathaway’s “For All We Know” to our friends and family - unbeknownst to the future bride - as we stand in the church’s exit aisle awaiting the planned finish. As the best man concludes, the audience stands and faces us to witness the ending of a rouse. Flashback to the night I decide to propose, I dreamt the location of the engagement; the people in attendance; where we would stand; the date (40 months exactly after we started dating); but not yet the song to be sung. The next night, I dreamt the song. The before and after of the proposal were luckily captured for those unable to attend.

How did we end up here? From Tavon and Samiah to Tamiah? Well, it wasn’t due to any efforts from either one of us! Our relationship follows less closely to a RomCom film starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks and more closely to the trajectory of Galileo’s “heavenly bodies”: our celestial beings traveling millions of miles through space and meaninglessness and colliding to never be separated for long thereafter. In fact, the fragments of both colliders began to revolve, heat, shake debris, mix, and form a whole new entity altogether. Anecdotally, we collided just before Freshmen year in the Summer of 2010 - connected only by chance and our roommates (thanks Sal!) being mutual friends (clearly a motif in our relationship and this short blurb). We’ve laughed about it on numerous occasions since but didn’t even notice one another in our first meeting (even after sitting across from one another during a lunch between us and our mutual friends). But like everything else, God has a way of being purposeful in how we gravitate to one another. In the year to follow our original meeting, our lives revolved and spun into a barrage of random encounters; being in the same English 101 peer editing group (only decided by seating proximity and not by choice); and the growing number of mutual friends keeping us in close contact. At this time, still not yet friends, yet not strangers. We were neighboring galaxies: just far away to exist separately but just close enough to be called neighbors.

Then (surprise surprise), we are on the same floor Sophomore year in the Fall of 2011, and began spending more time together due to our mutual friend Sam (thanks Sam!). From then, we grew closer with every moment shared until our relationship blossoms into the most awkward date-not- date on February 9th, 2013 at Ben’s Chili Bowl - not going into the night thinking it was a date but leaving (after great conversation and a new experience) knowing that we wanted to be more than friends. The next day, we started dating. In a foggy mist of time afterwards, we’re celebrating anniversaries. 40 months after dating, we’re engaged. And 17 months and 12 days after that, we are set to be married. Two beings to share the same life. Two becoming one. Of course, there are details left out in the Tamiah Tales: some minor, most hilarious, all anointed. But what won’t be precluded, however, is our union on 9/22/2018. In the coming months, we hope to see everybody there to share our last moments separate and first moments together. It’ll be a starry night flowing with wine and champagne: the former to represent our divine coupling and the latter to celebrate its happening. We love each and every one of you reading this and we’ll see you soon! God bless!