I am the luckiest guy in the world, but if you’re reading this, you knew that already. One of my dreams since I was a young camper at CJ was to be a Bikkurim (color war) captain someday when I was a counselor. No doubt, I would lead my team to victory. Fast forward to summer of 2015, when my supervisor, Jonathan Burger, walks up to me with a note and a whisper, “don’t say a word.” After putting the campers to bed that night, I showed up at the archery range with my blindfold, just like the note instructed. Jitters of excitement rush through my veins. My time has arrived! That night is a blur that resulted in me being paired as a Red team co-captain with a supervisor I didn’t know very well. This was her third time as a captain, and she had never won. Uh oh. Over the next three days, Amanda and I spent hours together in her stucco writing cheers, planning wardrobe surprises, and getting to know each other’s leadership style. Ironically, the theme that year was Biblical Love Stories, and we had the roles of Moses and Tziporah. Actually, now as I am remembering, I did most of the strategizing. To my frustration at the time, Amanda continued to run around camp, completely invested in giving her campers the most fun, successful summer capable. Despite my competitive tunnel vision, Amanda stayed true to our summer’s purpose – the kids. I got a glimpse of her heart through this experience. Well, “Moses and Tziporah” lost Bikkurim. (Congrats to “Adam and Eve” and the Green team.) However, I gained a lifelong friend. Well, a future more-than-friend. After that summer, Amanda returned to Syracuse University, and I headed back to University of Florida for our Junior years. We kept in touch, especially when Amanda studied abroad in Australia. That caught my attention! Big heart? Check. Adventure seeking? Check. Hmm…

Summer 2016 found us back working at Camp Judaea. This time, I was Head of Sports, and she was Inclusion Director. Since we were both supervisors now, we had more opportunity to get to know each other throughout the summer. In my mind, a summer fling. But, as I’ve learned, once you fall for a Shames girl, there’s no going back. Back to school for Senior year as “just friends,” we would Facetime for hours on random evenings. “Just some girl from camp,” I would say, shrugging off my roommates and closing the door. My soft smile was all I could do to keep the butterflies in my stomach from breaking free. “I’ll go back if you go back.” So, we went back to camp for yet another summer. This is when we finally made our relationship official. Geez, we spent every moment we could together that year. Golf cart rides passing out snack and filling water coolers, helping homesick campers fall in love with this special home away from home, meals, days off, long walks to flagpole, quiet moments under the stars on the back field. That’s where she said, “I love you,” and I responded “You do? Really?! I love you, too.” The magic of camp. Then the real world hit. Time for me to move to Scottsdale, Arizona and she was off to Miami, Florida. Were we really going to do this long-distance thing? How was it going to work? What if it didn’t? But what if it did? It was a long year of new, independent experiences and the best, adventure-filled visits. Amanda taught me how to cook over Facetime, and I couldn’t stop bragging about her to all my new Yelp pals. Distantly smitten was our first year of being in love. We got through it, and then headed back to camp for one final summer before I moved to Miami.

The rest is history. South Florida became our home. I was warmly welcomed into her big Cuban family, and she became my family’s favorite part about me. Her friends became my friends, and my friends became her friends. Life got easy, so we got a dog. Ashtin, Amanda, and I moved in together after a year of me being in Miami, and the cards fell into place for us. Two years and a pandemic later, we decided to move to Delray Beach. The love, support, and respect we share with one another continues to grow. Our relationship has evolved from two individuals to one team with shared values and aligned dreams. Amanda and I are over the moon that we can share our wedding day with so many dear friends and family. Thank you for joining us to celebrate this special moment in our lives. It feels like we finally won Bikkurim. Go A-team! Now, I’m heading downstairs to enjoy a delicious meal my soon-to-be wife has prepared for us. I’ll then do the dishes before we settle in with Ash on the couch to watch Succession. See you all on the dance floor in Puerto Rico!