“How long have you been together?”

It's a question that we're asked often. And it's a question without a clear and definitive answer. So let's take a trip down memory lane and explain how everything came together... after many long years.

We met in 1999 while working at the Stein Gardens & Gifts on Brown Deer Road. Quite honestly, it was a mistake that we even met to begin with. Kelly was hired because the manager thought she was 16 years old, but she was really only 15... which meant that she could only work a limited number of hours.

Although several years separated us in age, we shared a common bond having both attended Brown Deer High School. We often shared stories about teachers, band (Mr. Schaffer!) and the community in general. Most of it was small talk, but they were common interests that helped us get to know each other.

Fast forward to 2002, when Kelly was promoted to the Supervisor position at Stein's. Tim was the head Supervisor at the time, and had the responsibility of training Kelly in her new role. Given the one-on-one interaction at the time, a few sparks began to fly. Add on some late night conversations via AOL Instant Messenger... and the groundwork was laid for the relationship to grow.

The Early Years

Early on, our relationship was somewhat of a tightly guarded secret. Written and unwritten rules in the workplace frowned upon relationships, especially between employees in the management ranks.

As a result of the circumstances, we're not 100% sure when we truly “started dating”. Many of our early adventures could have just been two friends hanging out, but then again they could have been dates. Either way, we've come to the agreement that our first date would have likely been in early 2003. Yes... over 13 years ago!

The Middle Years

As our “covert” relationship continued, some of our co-workers started to become suspicious that we were somehow involved. One funny instance occurred when our store manager had a couple pairs of Milwaukee Brewers tickets to hand out. As he was giving Tim a pair of tickets, he asked if it was safe to assume that Tim would be taking Kelly to the game.

Then there was the fact that the neighbor across the street from Tim's house just happened to be the auntie of one of our co-workers. When the co-worker was visiting her auntie one day, she happened to see Tim working out in the yard. Once she knew where Tim lived, it was only a matter of time before she saw Kelly's car in the driveway. After that, the cat was pretty much out of the bag and most people knew that we were in a relationship.

More Recent Years

After Kelly left Stein's in 2007, our relationship truly began to bloom (pardon the pun). We have taken advantage of the recent years to explore new destinations and enjoy life in general. From Wisconsin to more "distant" locations such as St. Louis and Louisville... we have made memories that will last a lifetime. More importantly, we solidified the fact that we should be together for the rest of our lives.

The Proposal... Finally!

Much like everything else in our relationship, even the proposal took longer than expected!

Tim originally planned on proposing under the fireworks at the Manitowoc St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 11th. The weather that night had different ideas. Fog rolled in late afternoon and completely obscured the sunset and subsequent fireworks. Not exactly what he had pictured for the proposal, so he held off on that special moment.

A few weeks later, Tim planned a special night out on March 30th. The evening that included dinner and a viewing of Riverdance at the Milwaukee Theater. He planned on proposing on the riverwalk between dinner and Riverdance. Unfortunately, the weather once again had different ideas... as the rain came down.

Not wanting to postpone the proposal again, Tim suggested that we stop at Kopps on the way home after Riverdance. We placed our order and were patiently waiting for our number to be called. When our number was called, Kelly went up to the counter. When she came back with the custard, Tim was waiting with the ring and the big question. Nothing fancy and quite impromptu, but most importantly... Kelly said yes!