it was always you

We met in... well, we aren’t really sure when we met! We grew up a couple grades apart in Chelsea, Oklahoma. Chelsea is the kind of small town where everyone knows everyone, or so we thought! We passed each other in the halls, shared classes, and even had several extracurricular activities together, however it would be over ten years later on what seemed looks a random Sunday in August of 2016 that we would truly meet. Zach had been invited to a "family" barbecue by his mother and was surprised to find Serena and her mom in his parents backyard when he arrived. Zach passed a knowing look at his mother. There was no way he was being set up by his mom! He played along though and was ready to teach her a lesson. Little did he know that his niece, Anna, had been hard at work casting a new light on very old impressions. Serena, thinking she and her mom were just invited to a friendly backyard barbeque, was a bit slower to catch on. As Zach made it his mission to tease his mom throughout the afternoon by paying extra attention to Serena, something unexpected happened. It quickly became clear just how little we actually knew about each other and were both interested to learn more! A cautious slew of “not dates” followed, from snow cones and a late night chat to a sunset hike. It didn't take long for either of us to realize that this was something special. As our first official date was winding down on the 3rd of September, Zach asked, “so, what are you doing with the rest of your night?” “I was thinking about going home and watching Star Wars for the first time.” Serena said. And the rest, as they say, is history.