Soon to be we(d)

One month to the day that I moved to Philadelphia, I walked up the steps of Tenth Presbyterian with no friends in miles and a heart full of sorrow. I walked back down the steps a couple hours later with a crowd of acquaintances and lunch plans. I sat down with my burrito directly across from a woman who would later be my wife. Our first impressions were different from that day, but we both felt a familiarity that drew us to be admiring friends.

Three friends, recently bereft of grandparents, decided to take a Saturday morning stroll in the drizzle to appeciate the beauty of nature and reflect on the loss and blessing of those who came before. Only, one friend couldn't make it that day. C & I went anyway. Chanticleer gardens opens early on first Saturdays, and Charissa packs delightful picnics. Being of a brooding and curious sort, I decided it would be worth going, social cues be darned. We gulped smoky earl grey, rescued a hummingbird, and got lost driving through the Philly suburbs. In hindsight it was a lot like a first date.

In 2018 I made a not-so-solemn vow (New Years Resolution) to attempt to be satisfied with zero dates all year- a feat I very nearly achieved. After two months of choir rehearsals, Curtis recitals, and all-too-short strolls before going our separate ways, the time had come to ask Charissa on a real date. She had a flight Wednesday evening, so she initially declined a date. After realizing that, yes, I had asked her on a real date, she agreed I could drop her off at the airport. We went to the Navy Yard and enjoyed some eggnog, conversation, and embarassment at our mutual shyness. Come January we were happy to see each other some more :)

From the day Charissa told me she loved me, we started planning a trip to see her family in California. The first week of September we flew and drove up to her home of Arcata in Humboldt County. We tasted the coffee of San Francisco, navigated the twists of the Redwood Curtain, hiked the rocky shore of Trinidad, and saw the Pacific migration of loons to the North Coast. And I got her parents' blessing! The day after our return, we went to Chanticleer gardens again. After a morning picnic and stroll, I asked Charissa to marry me!