Hi, we are engaged!!!
Our story:
Z & I both were both born in Mississippi (Z in Vicksburg, me in Clinton). Both our dads worked for the same company, & knew of each other, but our families didnt hang out or anything. That company then transferred our families to Maine. We lived in Maine for 6 months before moving to Massachusetts, but Z's fam stayed in Maine. My family moved back to Mississippi when I was in the 5th grade, but we moved to Madison instead of Clinton. 4 years later Z's family moved back to Mississippi too, but instead of Vicksburg, they moved to Madison as well. We met our Freshman year of high school at band camp. He was on the drumline & I was on the color guard.
I was immediately smitten. He was not like any of the other guys we went to high school with. He liked all the bands I was raised on (the classics. James Taylor, The Allman Brothers, Bonnie Raitt..), he appreciated art, culture, photography, animals.. We both had a love for New England. We had so much in common. He, on the other hand, was the new kid at school & had no interest in a girlfriend. We both "liked" each other, but we would date other people throughout high school & college. But every time things ended with our s/o, we came back to each other.
Fast forward to my Senior year of college, Z comes back to Jackson after living & working in Maine again. We started hanging out again & it wasnt long before he told me he wanted to be serious this go-around. So on St. Patrick's Day of 2016, we officially started dating!
How he asked:
Z & I love the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, particularly the aquariums. Our friend David's (who helped Z plan the proposal, we love you David!) girlfriend, Anne Fairly, sometimes does routine dives to feed the fish. I was told we were going to watch her do a dive. I wanted to go to the pumpkin patch that day, but Z
insisted that we go to the science museum & watch her dive instead.
When we got there, there were some kids waiting to see the dive with
their parents. One of the museum directors plugged up her microphone &
started walking us through the dive & telling us about all the fish
the diver was feeding.
The diver ended up not being our friend, but we watched anyway. Towards
the end of the dive, the diver swam up to the top of the tank & came
back down with a small sign. He swam towards the glass holding up a sign
that said: “Sara, it’s always been you”. We always tell each other that
“it’s always been you” because we always came back to each other when
our other relationships ended.
By this time my best friend, a photographer, jumps out & is taking
photos, & I look down to see Zander on one knee with a ring that
everyone has described as “so me”. After that all I remember is tears & shaky hands; I had to ask Z if I even said yes!
It has been a month since Z asked me to marry him & I am still in shock. I look at my ring all the time & think about how I met the man I would marry back when I was 16 & had no idea. How I wanted us to date so bad, & cried over it (high school girl stuff, ya know), not knowing that there is a reason for everything & that our time would come. Now I get to marry my best friend!
thank you,
