We met as teens when I went to buy a guitar string at the music store where Jon worked. For 6 years we were best friends enjoying rock climbing, meteor showers & burritos. We were each other's confidant as we navigated the pains of life & dating, until that fated night at 3 am in the Foodland parking lot. Jon had turned to kiss me on the cheek but I had turned too. The kiss seemed to stop time, and everything had changed.

I have too many favorite memories to say just one, but the first that came to mind was the day Jon proposed. He took me to see the latest Lord of the Rings movie, and he told me that he panicked every time the Ring showed on screen. A week prior he'd been on a local radio show that was airing that night, and what I didn't know was that the chorus of the original song he'd performed was him asking to marry me, and that our friends and family were listening at the same time across the country.

We would be able to slow down for a while. Less focus on the hustle, & more on our band The Beard & The Bird, in which we've written multiple songs about our love and life, as well as building our YouTube channel, Traveling Through Live, which showcases songs written by the artists we meet on the road. It would also help us fix our house, which is in its late thirties, and is rapidly falling apart. Relatable.