On my way to the office one fall day, September 6, 2021, to be exact, I asked Pete that question on Bumble after he liked my profile. His answer “stranger things have happened.” I laughed, and our virtual courtship began. From there it was texting pretty much everyday and virtual movie dates for a couple of weeks. Then, one evening, after NMH convocation, I shared that I had just finished passing out ice cream sandwiches. Pete asked about my favorite ice cream and I shared that I preferred pineapple popsicles to which he replied, “we should get popscicles sometime.” Here is where our accounting of our story diverges. Pete believes that I made the first move for our in person date, I believe he did. With his opening for popscicles, I innocently asked “when?” He believes that was me asking him out. I, on the other hand, believed he was asking me out when he opened the door for popscicles. More importantly, however, is that no matter who was responsible for our first date, it was sensational. We met in Brattleboro for dinner on September 18, 2021, at Whetstone Station, followed by mocktails at a local bar that hadn’t gotten its liquor license yet. No popsicles, but the night was perfect and the next day we were making plans to see each other again. Sparks, butterflies, and a starry night - turns out he was right - a snowboarder and a novice skier can match 🥂💍❤️

On a warm summer’s night in his mother’s house in North Carolina, with her ring and my parents’ blessing, Pete woke me from sleep, knelt by my bedside and asked me to be his wife. With the fullest of hearts, I said yes. Our joy was shared immediately as we called my parents and celebrated with family in North Carolina. And just like that, we were engaged!