In the 3 years Kevin and I have known each other we had truly become best friends and knew everything about each other. We also tried lots of food, saw broadway shows, stand-up comedy, tried to date other people and put lots of miles on cars and racked up lots Southwest rewards going to see each other.
We really got close after playing a game of We’re Not Really Strangers (we played for hours and really got to know each other) before he moved and we played again when we realized we wanted to be together (we played over several days and talked about all the important stuff). So in many ways, we might not be together without that game!
But here we are 3 years later, in many ways seeing life play out how I hoped. With us loving each other and choosing each other forever and it’s been the wild ride you’d expect from both of us.

His Side: I lived in Kentucky for exactly 371 days and in that time I bought a new truck (I miss that Tundra), worked very little (thanks Covid), dated as best I could given Covid and not so awesome dating apps (thanks Bumble, no thanks to Tinder, Upward, Christian Mingle, and Hinge) and still managed to meet, date, break up with, and then become best friends with the person who is now statistically most likely to kill me. For the future Police Detective out there, her maiden name is Erin McConnell (2 C’s, 2 N’s, 2L’s) and I more than likely deserved it. Erin credits ‘We’re Not Really Strangers’ with a lot of our story going from best friends to where we are now and she’s right to do so; it is how and when we first said or wrote “I Love You” to each other but there’s always more to the story. For me looking back, the game is just another marker on a divinely crafted journey that led me to exactly the right person, at the exact right spot, at the exact right time, and in the exact right way.

I say that our story is divinely crafted and I believe it is, but not in the burning bush or Hallmark Christmas movie way. It was crafted in a way where I was perfectly happy being best friends and going to apple orchards, weird craft shows, farmers markets, broadway shows, and Costcos from Kentucky through Ontario until I was shown it wasn’t enough any more.
The leap from best friends to “I choose you and I’m going to choose you every day for the rest of our lives” would have been a big one if I had done it on my own. (Side Note: Yes, I did say that and yes she thought it was as disgustingly sweet as it sounds.) The exact right way for me had to be a divinely inspired evening alone in my apartment 395 miles away from Erin when I was shown how incredible life with her could and would be with her as more than my best friend. That night it was like a fog had been lifted, blinders removed, clouds cleared and all the other cliches that were very real in my case. Trust me, I wish I could have been woken up an easier way but life doesn’t happen that way. It was the exact right way for me, at the exact right time to show me exactly the right person. The person, God willing, I get to choose every day for the rest of our very long life together.