We're excited to celebrate with you

It was my first year teaching at Oak Hill Middle School. I was not looking to entertain anyone in any romantic way. I was there to do my job, connect with students, and to be the best teacher and coach that I possibly could. As time progressed, this handsome guy would always speak to me during our lunch hour. “Hey, Ms. Harris.” I would speak back because it was the polite thing to do. I did not know his name and it had been a few days so I asked Deputy Holland his name and he told me. In the days that follow, during lunch I would always hear “Hey Ms. Harris”, but at this point, I would reply “ Hey Mr. Canty. How are you?” Then one day, he sent a direct message through Facebook Messenger, and eventually, this is where he asked me on our first “outing”. At the time I did not consider it “a date” because it was a football game. I was not that into football but it was a “Pink-Out” game so I wanted to attend. Awkwardly, we sat through this game making small talk about football and just life. For the next few months, we hung out a few more times, including going to the fair, to dinner, and other sporting events. Fast forward, to Thanksgiving 2017. This was the first time I took him to meet my entire family. I don’t think he said more than ten words. He was not being rude; that was just his nature. From then on, I could not get rid of him. That leads us into the present day!

Before the proposal day, I already planned to ask, but I couldn't seem to find the right day. I was unsure of how I would do it, but I knew I wanted her mother and grandmother to be present. She is brilliant, so I know I had to make sure she wouldn't know what I had up my sleeve. That morning she reminded me that we were going to her hometown to cut her mother's grass. Could this be the day? I had no clue how I was going to make sure we were all in the same room, so that was almost out of the picture. On the way to her mother's house, I asked her randomly, "is there a way we could get your mom and granny in the same room?" She replied, "Yes, she may already be there, but why?" I replied, "No reason, I just have something to talk about with them, but nothing bad." We arrived at her grandmother's house first, and her mother was indeed there, but she was about to leave! So I asked her to stay for a little because I wanted to discuss something before we left. Of course, Shay would not stay in one place, she kept going from one room to the next like she always does. At that moment, I knew that she did not have a clue! I started talking about appreciation, unity, and their family with Mama Johnson & Granny for a while. I began to speak on how I felt about Shay as I got up and let the moment present itself. I got down on my knee and asked the question I had wanted to ask her for a long time. "Will you marry me?" She stood there in shock for a few seconds, and then, she said, "OMG! YES!"