I will never forget the way I felt the moment I set eyes on Damon for the first time. It was a jolt in my heart, shaking hands, breathing fast ~ one moment, it was an ordinary day at work, and the next, I felt like the whole world had stopped! He was an intern at the social services agency I was working at, and our friendship quickly blossomed through days of home and agency visits, meetings, and lunches at Subway! I felt free with Damon, that I could be and do and say who I was and what was true for me without hesitation or judgment from him. He was sincerely one of the most genuine people I had ever met, and he had a pure heart. I fell in love with his simple, open, honest way of being. He was REAL, and that was so refreshing to me! With Damon I soon learned that he said what he meant and he did what he said. He made me laugh hysterically, and he was able to handle my sass and attitude effortlessly. I saw in him someone who I would be able to count on through thick and thin, who would take care of me, protect me, and who I was proud to say was my partner. I had been waiting my entire life for Damon to arrive, and I was, and am, absolutely thrilled to finally have him by my side.

And it came to pass when I arrived at the Douglass Community Assocation on the morning of July 12, 2011. A few friends and I were sitting in the office space where we worked for our internship. After a couple of hours a beautiful rose picked out of a garden by God appeared in the room. It was Love A Burkett. Her beautiful smile illuminated the entire room and quickly spread to the pulse of my heart. I was introduced to her by one of the case managers, and I then proceeded to ask of her some questions which would allow me to anaylze her current relationship state. I asked "Are you married, How old are you, and Do you have any children?". She answered all my questions without a second thought. She kept looking at me and I kept looking at her for the time she was in the room. For days her beautiful image, her voice and her smile were walking on the carpets of my mind and heart. We became closer as time progressed. We had lunches together at Subway, dog-sitting adventures, our first date with BW3 wings and fresh blueberries...we spent a day in lovely South Haven on the beach with friends. 

I will forever remember our trips to Detroit to apply for a visa to visit my uncle in Canada, we became so close as we talked endlessly on our roadtrips, and we would sleep in Suzi (our car) in the parking garage at the visa office after getting up so early for the interview appointments. I will never forget the first time Love drove me through the tunnel to Canada and placed me on a train to Toronto to visit my family. I asked, Is she the one, Lord...Indeed she is the ONE. The trip back from Canada all over again, this time we went over the bridge - it was so beautiful, and this was when we had The Talk. We knew that we were destined to be together and made our plans to get through the next year of a long distance relationship. We were physically separated when I went back to Jamaica, but our commmittment and Love for each other remained strong. The trips back and forth over the year were much worth our wait to ultimately be with each other. We had countless adventures over those visits...I must say, "Looks like we 've made it, Look how far we've come my baby"...