Marry Me

Travis and I met, not by accident, but due to an accident. We went to separate high schools, but had a mutual friend. This friend told me all the time how great I would get along with Travis and we should really meet. Timing never quite worked out as we were both in school and had jobs and friends, hobbies and obligations. But one day, I got a phone call from our mutual friend’s mom that he had been in an accident. It wasn’t life threatening, thank God, but was going to involve surgery. She asked me to call Travis and keep him in the loop as well. To say the rest is history is rather cliché, but in this case, it’s true. The friend got better and Travis and I grew closer. He was one of my best friends and I loved hanging out with him. We never dated and to the best of my recollection, we never even entertained the idea. He was my best buddy and dating wasn’t really on the table. Fast forward a few years and I am living in Oklahoma, working the midnight shift at the police department. Travis is living in Quincy after college and often worked late at night, so we would chat with each other online. We talked about everything. I can’t think of anything I kept from him. He had gone through some heartache and loss and I was in a period of deep self-doubt. We were two peas in a pod. One night, Travis was writing in a Facebook note and a phrase he typed, “wife and kids”, linked to something. Finding this odd, he clicked on it, and it took him to my Facebook page. He contacted me and said, “I don’t want to freak you out, but can I tell you something kind of odd?” He filled me in on what he was writing and how that had made him think. Why had we never tried dating? Why hadn’t we considered each other? That made my heart skip a beat and I couldn’t stop smiling. Could it really be that simple? After talking for quite some time, I made a trip home to Quincy. He picked me up from the airport and I knew. I just knew. We were long distance for a short time before I finally decided that Quincy is where I wanted to be. I put in my notice at work and told Travis I was moving. He told me, “Good. Now I can tell you I love you.” He didn’t want to tell me before I had made the decision all on my own to move. He never wanted my move to be about “him”, but about “me” and what I wanted. (Insert awwwww….here.)

We began dating officially in 2009. We bought a house together in April of 2010 and started planning a life. We found enjoyment in genealogy research and began talking about getting an ancestry.com account. February 11th of 2011, I had a photo shoot to go to. I said, “When I get home, maybe we can look into it.” I can still remember walking in the back door and seeing him jump off the couch. I stood in the kitchen with my camera bag still on my shoulder and keys in my hand. He was acting odd and I could tell he was nervous. “So, I signed us up for ancestry.” Okay, I see. He’s just excited. “Great! How does it work? Do we both need separate accounts, or can we share?” He got down on one knee, pulled out the most beautiful ring, and said, “I think one tree is enough.” That was the best day, the best guy asked me to be his best gal. October 1st of this year will be 7 years as his bride. I couldn’t have asked for better.