Let's Tie the Knot!

The crush has been there for years, but it took forever for reality to click with both of us. Thomas' dad was a PE coach for the middle school that I went to. I would make excuses to go see Coach Lutz when she saw Thomas' X-Terra in the parking lot. Thomas would purposefully make his dad late so he could see me get dropped off in the mornings. We tried several times to "talk" or date, but it did not seem right. We've been friends for years, but we could not step out of the friend zone. Fast forward years later, I reached out to Thomas to see how he was doing. He said he about passed out when he saw my name pop up on his phone. He was on the way home from working on the pipeline in Texas. We texted and talked on the phone for a few days and then he asked me out on a date. Yeah... I am blushing. On September 21, 2018, Thomas sent me flowers while I was at work. The card read, "I hope you have a wonderful day! Can't wait to see you tonight! Thomas". The butterflies were unreal. I left work and headed to Alex City, where I would be meeting him. I contemplated driving on by the condo because I was so nervous. But I didn't. I pulled up and everything felt perfect. It all made sense as to why it never worked out in the past. Timing is everything!

On April 1, Thomas texted me saying that his family would be burning brush piles at the land and they needed our help. I told him that he could go help, but I needed to get stuff down around our house. He then tells me that it might be the last time his dad can home on the weekends for a while due to his work schedule, so, of course, I said: "Let's go then!" On April 6th, we woke up as we normally do on the weekends-- no rush, Thomas got breakfast, etc. After we ate breakfast, Thomas started pestering me about getting ready. I told him that I was not getting ready to go burn wood or ride the boat. He continued to hound me about putting on make-up, fixing my hair, and wearing "real" clothes, and so on. I should have just called him out on it then! But I didn't and I did not get ready... I refused. I actually started crying because he was telling me that we were going to burn wood yet he was putting on a button up Polo. After my meltdown, he changed too. Once we got to the condo to get on the boat, Bill told me to call my mom and ask her, Mitchell, and Carter if they wanted to come. I said I would try, but I do not think they will. Well, sure enough, they agreed and were meeting us down there. On the way to Lutz Landing, we passed some friends who had broke down on the water. At that moment, all the crazy thoughts of him asking me went away because I figured we would be on more of a schedule if that day was the day! We helped them with their boat issue and headed back to the land. My family arrived, we played corn hole and hung out around the fire. After winning a game of corn hole, Thomas pulled me away from the group. I was so clueless. Then I heard "This Is It" playing and saw the tears in his eyes. I literally said, "Are you really doing this right now?" hahaha bless his heart!! He got down on one knee, I said yes, and we celebrated!