Jenny and Alex believe they were matched on eharmony in January 2010 because they both noted that they valued creating a difference in the world. The first date was at the Grapevine in Salem, chosen by Jenny because it was close to home and easy to leave (and Alex was in the area that day visiting a KIPP charter school in Lynn). But right away, the exit strategy became irrelevant. They hit it off quickly — easy conversation, comfortable energy, the kind of first-date vibe that makes you forget to be cautious. The second date was closer to Alex’s home in Cambridge. In the age before smart phones and GPS, Jenny ended up going to the wrong restaurant, but once they connected, the conversation immediately picked up from the first date, with hours of talking, telling stories, laughing, and a shared fondness for the afterdinner liquor, Frangelico. By May, Jenny and Alex visited New Orleans and were in love, and then later that month, the truly important milestone arrived - Alex meeting Alexis. They met at the Museum of Science, and the first thing Alexis said to Alex was, “I feel so tall” - but by the end of the day Alex had demonstrated some basic street cred, bringing her to feed geese on the Charles River and then carrying her on his back up the hill to the Harvard Bridge. That summer, they all traveled to Thailand to meet Jenny’s father and sister (and later traveling to Bethesda to visit Jenny’s mother). By 2013, the three of them combined households in Brookline, MA, and the rest - as they say - is history. And there’s been a lot of history over the past 16 years from milestone birthdays to trips abroad, sticking together while caring for a total of six guinea pigs, to many visits to New Orleans. On their last trip - sandwiched between two full days at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - Jenny and Alex took the streetcar to Audubon Park, a special place for them both. Alex loved the park and zoo; Jenny loved visiting her favorite live oak. After she found her tree, they settled on a bench by the water. She asked for the water bottle. Instead, he handed her a wedding ring.