The Future Grims

We met way back in 2014 at Trafalgar Middle school but didn't really connect until 2016. I got a text one day from him just asking how I was doing, and after catching up from the past few years he had invited me to his 16th birthday party. It was funny the first few days of us texting I thought he was a completely different person but I eventually caught on. Now to go to this birthday party I didn't tell my parents he was a boy or that it was a birthday party so I showed up empty-handed lol. Shortly after the party, I wanted him to come over but I had to come up with a plan that my parents would approve. Clearly, these were my rebel years, I told my parents that I needed a tutor to help me with my homework and that he would be able to come to the house to help me. To my surprise I got a yes, now this so-called "tutor" and by the tutor, we obviously mean Dominic came over. Where I did my math homework and he ate plantain chips, I think it was after that night we became annoyingly inseparable. Now, this all started back in October of 2016 and we hung out pretty much every day we could until January 21st, 2017. Where he took me to Fort Myers Beach and asked me FINALLY to be his Girlfriend. (He also jokingly threatened to jump off the pier if I said no)

I knew for a long time that I wanted to propose. The location, time, family, and friends needed to be perfect so the day was made perfect for Ashley. For all those that didn’t know, I threatened to jump off the pier of Fort Myers beach if Ashley didn’t agree to go out with me. With that being said, I felt it was necessary to make this moment at the beach where everything first began. I chose to do my research of the beaches in Florida and chose Anna Maria Island and it felt perfect. Once the location was picked the second biggest step was finding the perfect ring. After being with Ashley for 5 years I have been pretty spot on with what she likes. Just for some back up though I had one of her best friends Jo tag along with me just in case. Walking through the jewelry store the butterflies definitely set in. I described the ring I was looking for to one of the employees and he brought me to the rings he felt I would like. I thought to myself what would look good on Ashley’s finger and then my second thought was anything would look good. I knew what she wanted and I chose very wisely. This process led to the butterflies getting heavier and maybe some sweat being produced. I managed to make it through checkout, headed home, and arrived back at the house where I hid the ring in a super-secret hiding spot. Once those two big steps were finished the logistics set in. A group chat was created with all those that would be there for the special day. The plans that were discussed in the group chat were the proposal was happening at sunset on the beach, but disguised as just a few friends getting together for a beach day. This part covered having Ashley’s friends being part of the proposal but I thought to myself I also wanted our family there as well. In the group chat, we discussed having dinner at a place where our family could be waiting. Fortunately, Ashley’s sister and her nephew could make it all the way from North Carolina to be there as well. The big day was coming together and the excitement was hard to hold in knowing the ring was sitting just under my bed in a box, super-secret right? The day February 26th rolled around and everyone met up to travel to Anna Maria Island for a fun “Get together.” We arrived at the beach to relax and chat while everyone around Ashley knew what we were actually there for. Trust me sunset couldn’t come any slower, everyone was on edge. The sun was going down and it was just about time for the big moment. The girls mention to Ashley they wanted to get some pictures with the sunset. The girls had lined up to take some photos. At this time, I was taking deep breaths to try to calm myself down while I scrambled to get the ring from my bag while Ashley was distracted with pictures. I had the ring and thought to myself, how do I get around her without her seeing me. The only thing I could think of was making the biggest loop around her as I possibly could, and it worked. It felt so perfect to me, one second she was looking at the photos taken to make sure she looked good in them to turning around to see me on one knee holding a ring out asking her to marry me. The moment was perfect our special song was playing she was caught so off guard and the plan went as smooth as I was hoping for. Ashley was speechless but she could get the word I needed to hear out which was “YES.” We had plenty of friends to take pictures and videos but the best part was all our family was on Facetime to experience the big moment as well. I then told Ashley that our family was waiting for us at a nearby restaurant. I really felt that Ashley couldn’t believe it was real. We had then packed up as quickly as possible and headed to the restaurant to get everyone together. This moment felt the best as we had friends and family all in one spot for such a big moment in life. This moment reminded me of how happy it makes me to be a part of such an amazing family and friend group, in life, there is nothing more I could ask for.