God's timing is everything. We didn't know when our paths first crossed in the summer of 2013 that they would come back together. It was thanks to Lee needing a wedding date in spring of 2018, and Bethany accepting to be his wedding date that allowed for us to form our own loving relationship. Fast forward 19 wedding date opportunities together, we are blessed to be planning our own!
A few months into dating, Lee came home to DC with Bethany, some of her closest friends, and family to celebrate her Step Dad’s retirement. It fell on her birthday and after a night of celebrating birthdays and life milestones Lee pulled out a little yellow box titled “Gem Collection.” Bethany’s first reaction was shock that a man would be so thoughtful about the gift he would give her to celebrate 28 years on this earth, and her first words were “did you do something stupid.” What she meant to say is, “how thoughtful and caring of a man are you!” How it came out was a little different. Luckily Lee had already started to master all of the “Bethanyisms” and laughed at her reaction.
Fast forward two years and two months later, Lee was on his knees at Eagle Beach in Aruba telling Bethany, “I did something stupid,” as he opened a little black box with this most precious symbol of his desire to marry her. Fortunately, having learned from previous experience, Bethany eloquently replied “I am not going to do something stupid, but something smart. I would love to spend the rest of my life with you.”