Blessed. This past week, heck this entire year, has been such an overwhelming yet exciting rollercoaster and I can barely put into words how grateful I am for all of it.

When I think back on this time last year, It’s hard to believe how much has truly changed. Last August, I was probably the most stressed and overwhelmed I had ever been in my entire life. Between debating whether I should launch my own business to worrying about student loan payments to stressing about things like 401Ks and health insurance, I was in a dark place where I truly doubted if I was capable of handling all that the real world had to offer. Yet through it all there was one bright spot, Ethan.

From the moment I first met him, 15 minutes Iate I might add, I knew he was something special but it wasn’t until a couple weeks later when I realized just how special he truly was. We went for a short hike up to Pike’s Peak, just one of the many spontaneous adventures we have had together, and we started talking about life and our dreams and goals. It was like we had known each other for an eternity rather than a few short weeks. I will never forget that day. It was warm but with a nice soft breeze. I was dressed in sweats, as per usual, with Ethan in a nice shirt and jeans and other than a couple other people we had the entire park to ourselves.

That was the day I knew I was going to marry this man.

I don’t know what put that thought into my head but it was reassuring. Now here we are engaged and it is so surreal. I get to spend the rest of my life with this man. There are not enough words to describe what he means to me but he probably wouldn’t want me to get all super emotional and gush about him on a blog read by hundreds of people so rather than spilling about why I love him I figured I would tell you the story about how this man “popped the question” and asked me to marry him.

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Thursday, August 11, 2017:

I got home from work after a long and stressful day. I picked up the mail and stopped in at NAPA to say hi to Ethan before heading home. Lisa, Ethan’s mom, was there so we talked for a bit. I thought she was acting weird but I figured it was because we had made plans for a surprise birthday party for Ethan in a few weeks. Ethan was busy with customers so we could only talk for a little bit before I went home to let Gunner out.

After a quick workout, Gunner and I waited for Ethan to come home so we could make some supper. Upon further inspection we had no food so we decided to go for a little drive and probably stop by the cabin to see his parents on our way to Decorah for groceries. We stopped for some ice cream and then were on our way. When we pulled up to the cabin no one was there. Weird, right? So we decided to wait for his parents and started talking about adopting another puppy! We (okay me mostly) had been looking at some dogs at the Ceder Bend Humane Society for awhile and we had been talking about it all day. I figured we could go either Friday after work or Saturday “just to look” when out of the blue Ethan said he didn’t think we could afford one right now. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cry a little bit. I was pretty shocked but I mean maybe he was right, I do have my student debt to worry about. I think he may have laughed when I said that but before I knew it he dropped down to his knee and through a few tears asked me, messy bun and all,  to marry him. The best surprise I could have ever asked for.

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He pushes me to be the person I want to be. He keeps me grounded when my mind is coming up with millions of ideas and projects and adventures but he is also my biggest supporter and pushes me to reach my goals no matter how lofty. Sure there are still worries and stresses, but somehow they don’t seem as bad when he is by my side.

I’m sure there will be a lot more blog posts about wedding planning and all of that excitment but for now I am content to be spending time with the man (and dog) that I love. Oh and you know that surprise birthday party, it was Ethan’s doing all along. He was going to propose in front of all our close friends and family, but decided Thursday afternoon that he couldn’t wait any longer. (HOW FREAKING CUTE IS THAT?!?) And that is why I love this man <3

-Megan