12/11/2024. It was a chilly winter December morning in the good ole South Cackalacky. If you know me at all during the month of December you know that I basically look like Christmas threw up and Buddy the elf lost his sister. I had spent the day running errands and knew that I would shortly be meeting this cute guy from Hinge for coffee. I had ornaments in my ear, a bow headband and 0 expectations. I had met Tyler on Hinge and all I could pray was, “Please don’t have warrants and please don’t eat my eyeball”. I had told everyone for years that no matter what, I would NEVER meet someone online. I refused.My trust level with meeting someone online was ZERO. But yet I decided to try. Tyler and I first started talking on Thanksgiving that year. Hmmm, I never dated someone with a Viking Santa Claus beard. All I knew is that our conversations flowed. To be completely honest, when I drove to the coffee place, I for some reason wasn’t nervous. I guess I thought we’d meet and he’d be sent back to the end of the rainbow wherever he came from. Tyler and I agreed to meet in “Murderburg”, (Spartanburg), a good halfway point for both of us for coffee. If all else failed we agreed that we would break bread and enjoy coffee. Tyler got there 1st. I sent him a message that I arrived. He told me that he was in the bookstore next door. I walked to the bookstore and the door opened. I don’t if it was when the wind blew past, if the ringing bells was from my ornaments banging into my head or if it was the bells above his head on the door. He smiled so big. And I felt a sigh of relief and all I could think was, “Wow…” He hugged me and we walked next door. The next hours, as I chattered my teeth sipping my iced latte and he drank his black Cold Brew, pretending I wasn’t freezing, all I could think was how I was pleasantly surprised and how easy this flowed. And for the 1st time in a long time, I didn’t think to be aware of the time. I didn’t think to run away. I didn’t want the day to end. We moved from outside to inside the crowded cafe and as he spoke something felt calm. Something felt surprising. We then decided to walk the downtown where he pulled me close to him to keep me warm. He hugged me as we walked side by side downtown. And for the first time, as he pulled me closer, I did not feel the need to JuJitsu him. It felt natural. It felt respectful. We walked downtown to where we found that Mrs. Gingerbread was in distress. (A wooden cutout had blown over in the extreme wind). Tyler grabbed one end and I grabbed the other as we put the stakes back in the ground and we placed her next to Mr.Gingerbread. As we placed her next to him so that they could be together, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d known him longer. I use to sit in my best friend Irena’s kitchen sipping fresh coffee Alex had just made.I told her, “This sounds so silly, but no one has ever asked me to be their girlfriend. I’m in my 30’s and it’s too late for that but I would have loved that.” Her and I prayed for meeting the one God prepared. I remember we talked about small details that we would love. On 12/25/2024, After Tyler came to spend my birthday/Christmas with me, we went to the top of Bald Rock at sunset. Tyler looked at me as the sun was setting. He looked at me and said, “I don’t know if this is just a high school thing or if people do this anymore, but would you be my girlfriend?” To be honest, at this point of my life all I’d ever known was to stop breathing and run away. When he asked me in that moment, I was brought back to Irena’s coffee table, and what I said I’d pray to God for. So many God winks. Tyler made all of our 1st moments so special. He was intentional. And on 12/10/2025, Tyler asked me, “How would you like to do this forever”. And in a string of twinkling Christmas lights falling from draping whimsical Southern trees, all I could see was tears as he asked me to be his wife. In a sea of Christmas lights and magic, Tyler asked me for forever...