{Casey Bunch & Taylor Cochran}

7.31.2010

Taylor and I met in the 8th grade at South Doyle Middle School. We were both part of the school television program called CTV. We became fast friends after that. Me, Taylor, and our friend LJ would meet downstairs in the computer lab with a few other students to broadcast announcements, trivia, weather, and a day in history to our fellow students. Taylor usually ran the camera or music, I was on the air, and LJ did the teleprompter.

Freshman year in high school Taylor and I ended up in the same English class. He sat right behind me that semester. I had the biggest crush on him at that point! We talked every single day and were best friends. We finally began dating the summer before Sophomore year. We have been together ever since! All through high school, and now college!

I had bugged Taylor all week about wanting to have a “date night in” and watch a movie and carve pumpkins. I made created an “event” on FB for it hoping that if we planned it in advance, we would actually get to do it. He accepted and we planned all week on having our date night.

Tay let me sleep in on Saturday morning. He didn’t call and wake me up early, which I was grateful for since I was exhausted from the week. I got up and got ready to go have our date night. I made it to his house by noon. To my dismay, Taylor was in the basement with his dad helping on the basement. Not that I mind, I am glad he is helping. I just didn’t anticipate him helping on the day we had set aside. I made cookies for us and just hung out for a while until they were finished.

Taylor’s mom volunteered to take us to the store to get our pumpkins. We called BJ and Pattie to see if they wanted to come over and carve with us that evening. When we got to Wal Mart, there were very few pumpkins left! We tried our best to pick out the best ones we could find.

When we got back to the house, I got on the net to look for an idea for my pumpkin. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do. I printed out a picture of Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas. I showed Taylor and asked him what he was doing. He refused to tell me! He said we were having a contest and that we couldn’t know. I wondered when it became a contest, but in the Cochran household that is not unusual, so I thought nothing of it. I knew that he loved the one that Rush did earlier last week, an Autobot from Transformers. I told him I knew exactly what he was doing! He was copying Rush and doing a Deceptacon! I was certain of this, especially since he had just found the license plate that he made in high school with one on the front. He gave in and said that I was right.

By 7:00, we were just waiting on BJ and Pattie to get to the house. We didn’t want to start carving without them, especially since Pattie had never carved before. Taylor’s mother insisted that we go ahead and clean our pumpkins. I asked Taylor why she was in such a hurry when it was only 7:45. He acted just as surprised as I was. I went on and gutted the pumpkins for the two of us.

BJ and Pattie finally made it to the house. Taylor’s mother had put up this cardboard barrier between Taylor and the rest of us. After all, it was a competition and we were not allowed to see the others’ pumpkins!

We finally finished carving. I was confident in my Oogie Boogie. Pattie and I took ours outside to light them up. Taylor’s mamaw and papaw were in the house ready to come out and judge. We all went outside. They lit the pumpkins one by one to make it “easier to judge”. Mine was lit, then Pattie’s, BJ’s, and finally Taylor’s.

I could see what it said, but I don’t think I really got it right away.Carved into the pumpkin read”Will you marry me?” I remember asking “Are you serious?”. He got down on one knee, pulled the ring out of his pocket, and asked me to marry him. I just stared at him for a minute. I was totally frozen. I couldn’t move! He finally laughed and said “Well?” I think I must have snapped back into reality at that point because I said “yes”.