It'd be cool if we met as children, not realizing it until we started dating in grad school and looked at old photo albums together. It'd also be awesome if we met in dreams before ever meeting in reality, where we simply clicked into place after being pulled together by a metaphysical connection. Instead, we met in the Beaver College Room at Arcadia University, where we both wrote weird and speculative fiction as weird and speculative grad students. We hovered around each other as new friends connected by new friends. At one point, we found out that we both had a deep abiding love for the 1997 classic "The Fifth Element," starring Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Chris Tucker, and Ian Holm. It's a wacky piece of effects-driven science fiction that never takes itself too seriously and has a simple, yet rewarding message about love. Definitely worth a look if you haven't seen it. 72% on Rotten Tomatoes. We see a lot of movies. Anyway, it was on our grad school trip to Edinburgh and London where we truly met each other--connected with one another. We spoke for hours at night about our lives and goals -- our secrets and the lies that we tell ourselves. This relationship, this love, this engagement and this marriage were born from those nights. We've had our obstacles since, of course. One of our apartments exploded, so we had to move into the other's tiny West Philly place together with Gabby, our Icelandic sheepdog who we both love more than we will ever love each other. Quarters were tight--tighter when we brought in Maxwell, our retired stray cat who we both love more than we will ever love each other. But, tempered in the (figurative) fires of a studio apartment, our relationship and family grew stronger. We haven't always done things the 'right' way. Life has sometimes taken steps in our relationship for us, yet they always felt like the natural ones to take. Towards this love, this engagement, this marriage. This life together.