Gabe and I met when I was just 13 years old at a National BETA Club leadership conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It sounds funny now but when he walked in wearing Sperry’s with his curly dark hair, I thought all 5 foot 2 and 100 lbs of him was ~like, really cute ~ Anywayyss… he invited me to sit by him, assured me he didn’t have rabies, bought me a corndog, and the rest was history. In our short conversation the day we met, we found out that we lived only 15 minutes away from one another despite never having crossed paths previously. In light of this new information, I started noticing Gabe around town (which was really weird) and we crossed paths in the most random of places (he accused me of stalking him but I couldn’t even drive). We facetimed every night, he took my sister and I trick or treating, and I eventually was fortunate enough to attend a few games of his illustrious high school basketball career. I have some of the sweetest memories of our young relationship - Taco Bell picnics, Hoodie Allen songs, and Guitar Hero marathons are highlights of this time period. High school was marked with a few “breaks” (In March of 2020, Gabe and I were returning from the beach when we heard a radio show talking about a new, very dangerous virus that had infiltrated the United States. We brushed it off as rumor until we got home and my mom informed us that if we wanted to see one another, Gabe would have to stay until the end of the pandemic. Although this was a scary time, it actually drew everyone closer together. My parents, my sister, her friend, Wendy, Gabe, and I all were cooped up in the house together for about three months. We made the best of this time by eating an irresponsible quantity of snacks, playing a lot of Wii, hot tubbing, bon-firing, swimming, and doing scavenger hunts – truly an unforgettable experience for everyone, especially mom and dad (LOL). Upon the end of the pandemic Gabe graduated barber school and began his career and I’m still marveling at his success and talent. I mean, this kid had like 200+ clients, made more friends than I’ve ever had, and was even able to help me pay rent on my one-bedroom apartment since my room-mates (and sister) left me all alone in Bowling Green to finish graduate school. I’m so thankful for his willingness to do so because that apartment placed us both in the proximity of our Bowling Green church home where we were able to grow in faith alongside one another and an extremely supportive church family. This same apartment was also the very place Gabe asked me to marry him with the most beautiful ring suspiciously resembling the same one I’ve been saving on Pinterest since middle school. He got it that day and said he intended on waiting until graduation…or at least until we made it to dinner to pop the question – safe to say, he made it to the living room less than an hour after he arrived to the apartment. I hate making decisions, but can confidently say this was the easiest “YES”, I’ve ever said in my whole life.
Since then, we’ve faced hospital visits, the birth of our newest, perfect nephew, Tate, and my newest baby cousin, Blake, and the biggest change of them all, a move across the country in effort to become Dr. Martinez. I am so thankful that Gabe and I were able to grow alongside one another in all phases of maturity (or lack thereof) and reach the point of supporting one another so fiercely that we not only chose to embark on receiving the blessing of marriage, but also the
trek to the ~foreign land of Texas~ where we have since gotten to live, laugh, love (and learn) alongside one another as we create a life for ourselves and exciting plans for the future. The move has not been very easy, and planning a wedding is difficult, but I pray that the upcoming years bring a Ph.D., a barber shop of Gabe’s very own, a happy home, more beach trips than are responsible, and most importantly, spiritual growth in Jesus as man and wife.