“We met online in December 2015. I didn’t really have high hopes for the site, but stumbled across Julie’s profile. Julie had written several paragraphs in the About Me section. I had one sentence about myself. Very indicative of our personalities. Julie wrote about school, her ambitions, and her thesis, and I was very intrigued. We began sending emails back and forth and discovering all of the things we had in common, including the Masters program we attended, a house we both lived in, a student ministry we were part of, and a therapist with whom we both worked. It seemed we just barely missed meeting each other in several different places, so we decided to plan a date while I was in town for Christmas break. Plans for both of us were canceled on New Year’s Eve, so Julie invited me over to have some snacks and wine. Julie made way too much food and I was very nervous, but we sat around talking, laughing, and listening to music for several hours. I like to go to bed early, so the fact that I stayed up until 3am was a big deal! I even had to be up early the next morning, but it was more than worth it. We quickly made plans to go get a drink together the next night. We both appreciated how intentional the other was in sharing excitement over the new relationship, and we made plans to see each other as often as possible once Kendra left for school again. For the next 3 years, we drove back and forth from Missouri to Arkansas, spending time together, doing life together, and falling in love together.”

Thanks for letting me third wheel Mexican food date nights and for allowing me to know the depth of your relationship. It’s not always easy for me to let people see my joy and the deep parts that I’m constantly trying to improve, but your friendship the past several months has opened my heart up to so much love and compassion! I’ll miss you both terribly now that you’re not midwesters anymore ;)

xoxo,

Kyndal