We weren’t looking—life was chaos. I was in California caring for my mom after a severe stroke. He was at my sister’s house just visiting. Somehow, we ended up there at the same time, and the connection was instant. What started as an unexpected spark turned into late-night calls, face time for hours and 7 hour drives back and forth, and five months later, he moved across states to be with me. Fate has a funny way of showing up when you least expect it.

The proposal! Our proposal was pure magic—completely unexpected and perfectly us. He drove me to the Northern California coast, stopping for lunch before taking me to a lighthouse—a symbol that holds deep meaning for me. With the Golden Gate Bridge behind us and sea lions playing in the bay, he got down on one knee. My love for the ocean, lighthouses, and California all came together in one unforgettable, beautiful moment. Lighthouses became our wedding theme!

We didn’t get a honeymoon. We planned on a weeklong honeymoon for our first year anniversary. Instead, we lost my mom and his dad within a week of each other, two weeks before our anniversary. We spent our anniversary week burying our parents, on opposite ends of the country. We would fly all our kids home, his and mine and then after we would take a week to ourselves to adventure together. It’s been almost 10 years married and 11 together, and we’re still best friends. Forever my always.