Christmas 2012 was the first time I talked to Nick (of course it was Christmas, I LOVE Christmas). We were at the Denver Health Christmas party. It was a dark, loud, quick moment, but we shared an introduction, (unsurprisingly) a few jokes and some whiskey before we went our separate ways. That next spring, I was working as an ED tech and he a paramedic. He found out quickly that with a well timed tease (always in front of more than one coworker), he could fluster me pretty easily. So we spent the next few months joking in passing. My most vivid memory from that time was rounding a corner to see him standing at the ambulance bay with a drunk, snoring patient – those big blue eyes had an eye roll for his annoying partner, but they had a wink for me. So, we went on our first “date.” What was planned as a “let’s discuss applying to PA school over coffee” turned into “let’s have a beer at a dive bar, watch middle aged men play not-terrible music and talk about everything BUT PA school.” The rest is history. Our dogs fell in love first, we came shortly after. We’ve been through two masters degrees, (the debt from two masters degrees), the loss and gain of some genuinely remarkable friends, two new jobs, homemaking and landscaping our way to creating a life together and two loyal pups who have been barking, begging and snuggling with us every step of the way. I am constantly reminded of kind, generous, humble, compassionate man that he is, and I'm lucky to have him. We can’t wait to celebrate with you this life that we have made and all the joy, love and surprises left to come.

The first day I met Angela Katherine, she was wearing a maroon scrub top, her hair was in a ponytail, and I thought to myself, "she's got a great butt." We exchanged numbers through a mutual friend to discuss applications to PA programs. We never did discuss these details. If my memory is correct, we talked about our dogs. While drinking beer. At a bar called the "Garage." Cripes, do I really want to admit to the world and my mother that our first date was in a dive bar?! I need to be transparent. We've gone to karaoke at many a dive bar again over the years. Angela will tell you that the first time we really talked was at a Christmas party, but as I recall, she was drinking whiskey while surrounded by a number of male admirers. She caught my eye even then. Fortunately I didn't have to convince her, or bribe her, all that much for a second date. Now, the second date is the most important. Everybody's all well-behaved on the first date, and its clear by the third date that something is probably developing. But the second date, that's where a relationship is sold! We went to the Pub on Pearl for number two where we talked for hours over one or two beers and a delicious hamburger, then made it a complete night with a three-hour screening of The Lord of the Rings. What. Nerds. From then on, it was date-after-date, the meeting of friends, and most importantly, the courtship of Jake and Kira, two labradors whose love and commitment to one another should be modeled by all other couples in the canine and human world. (sidebar: Angela got Jake from the Arfanage when he was 4 weeks old. He's part husky, part lab, full huskador, it's a real thing!) This was all in the spring and summer before I began my full-time, 60+ hour PA program a few years ago. I distinctly remember thinking before school began, "this relationship might not last during the crazy, busy, stressful few years of PA school" that were then ahead of me. I haven't had a doubt about Angela since.