On December 30, 2017, Tim took me to Orchard House in Concord, MA for our year anniversary date. For reference, Orchard House is the place where Louisa May Alcott wrote and set “Little Women,” which is a shared favorite of ours. We had been to Orchard House before, but Tim claimed that he wanted to see the Christmas decorations. Little did I know that he had been planning for months, and that our families knew today was the day, AND that my mother had been lying to make me think that Tim wasn’t ready to propose! After the tour (Tim was sweating the entire time, trying to check the ring in his pocket while I was enthralled with the antique furniture), he pulled me aside in front of the house. Being the weirdo that I am, I thought he was trying to get me out of the way of people walking behind us, but when I looked around, there was nobody. Tim looked at me and said, “Well, I can think of no better place to ask…(gets down on one knee) Will you marry me?” I stared at him in silent joy, trying to freeze it all in my mind: his sweet smile, the beautiful house, the ring, the flurries of snow tickling my face...and two complete strangers taking photos of us and rushing the premises. Apparently, two ladies on vacation from Oregon saw the whole thing, hid behind the house, and then decided to orchestrate a photo shoot, utterly beside themselves with excitement. Writing this, I am still completely floored by how I met my soulmate, and how blessed our love story has been!