How They Met

It started twelve years ago in Capitol Heights, Maryland, when a mutual friend—Tarsha’s aunt, Kittrice Wilkes—played matchmaker. The sparks were immediate, if a bit of a contrast: Rhonda’s bold, aggressive energy caught Tarsha’s eye, while Rhonda couldn’t get over what a total “cutie” Tarsha was.

Life was not always a straight line; they faced their share of obstacles that tested them. But every time the world tried to pull them apart, they found their way back to each other, realizing that “the one” is not just a feeling—it is the person you keep choosing. Together, they poured their hearts into raising their daughter, Journi Shaw, building a life rooted in more than a decade of history.

The big moment finally arrived during a family cookout. Exhausted from hosting, Rhonda had slipped upstairs for a quick nap. She was fast asleep when her friend Keacha came up to wake her, insisting she get back to the party. Groggy and unsuspecting, Rhonda walked back out into the sun and the smell of barbecue, only to find Tarsha waiting with a question twelve years in the making. Surrounded by the people who had watched them grow, they turned a simple summer afternoon into the first day of the rest of their lives.

“Twelve years, countless memories, one forever.”