A Love Story Ten Years in the Making
May 30th, 2015, was a night our friends had been working on for quite some time—a blind date they believed to be a good fit. My friend’s husband had been nudging Assim and I for several months though neither one of us were jumping at taking a chance on beginning a new relationship. Our friends continued to mention match making with not much pressure until finally and apparently we were both ready to say “ok” whatcha got for us and meet for dinner. I was a bit skeptical having had one experience on a blind date that did not produce good results and a few failed attempts at online dating (thankfully that chapter is closed) I went in with a bit of reservation and more so few expectations.

Eventually, though, we agreed —apparently at the exact same time to get together. We found ourselves walking into our first date Meriwether’s Restaurant in Portland, OR with our good friends the match - makers. Two people showing up mostly to check each other out, see if friends really are good at setting friends up though half-expecting an awkward dinner and a polite but reserved conversation with the possibility we may never see each other again.


Instead… well, here we are.


If you ask Assim, he’ll tell you I barely spoke to him that night. (In my defense, I was taking it all in! mb playing a little hard to get) But I left that date genuinely unsure if I’d made any kind of impression and less certain whether we would see each other again. A week went by, and I did not hear from Assim. Just as I had concluded he was not interested he called.


What I didn’t know was that he had asked our mutual friends for my number—they just took their time passing it along.
Thankfully, Assim was persistent. When he finally got my number, he did call and asked me for date #2—for dinner. And from that moment on, the mystery and shannanagans began….


The years following and to present have been full of adventure—travel, laughter, inside jokes, and just figuring things out together. Three years in (we disagree on this though agreed to put 3 years lol), Assim finally said I love you (yes, three years).


Then came the biggest surprise of all.


It was my 60th birthday—2.24.24, a date that, according to Assim, was not planned, though I remain suspicious. We were on a walk in Discovery Park in Seattle, just enjoying the day sitting on a bench overlooking the Puget Sound, when suddenly, he turned to me and asked me to marry him.
I was absolutely not expecting it and at first I thought he was kidding – till I saw the expression on his face... “Wait… are you serious I asked?”
He laughed. “Yes!”
And after a second of processing (still caught by surprise), I said YES.
It was a perfect and completely unexpected moment, made complete when our family and friends showed up to celebrate with us that evening again another welcome surprise.

And now, here we are—ready for the next adventure, surrounded by our 3 beautiful daughters, wonderful family, and cherished friends who have been part of our story from the very beginning. We couldn’t be happier to have found the true love we share and get to celebrate with all of you. So, get ready for a night full of love, laughter, and—let’s be real—some very questionable dance moves.