"... it don't take a whole day to recognize sunshine."

Christina and Raul’s love story began in early 2020 like many modern couples: by mutually swiping right! They met for their first date at a local cozy pub on an unseasonably warm and rainy February night. What was supposed to be a quick weeknight ‘hello' turned into hours of conversation like old friends catching up. Within weeks of their first date, they both knew that they had found their forever person. Or, as Raul likes to quote from The Light by Common: “...it don’t take a whole day to recognize sunshine.” Or, as Christina always says: “When you know, you know.” Unbeknownst to either of them they would be in pandemic-lockdown just weeks after first meeting. So, what followed next was a pandemic romance. They cooked meals at home, watched movies and, more than anything else, they went on walks— daily walks sipping coffee and talking for hours and miles. With every social engagement suddenly stripped from their schedules, they found themselves very quickly and easily filling their lives with each other. They quickly discovered that they had been to many of the same places, seen the same plays, concerts, comedy shows, and eaten at the same restaurants. They shared the same ideals and drive for what they thought would make a better world, and they had both lived in the same town as each other for years. How had their paths never crossed?! Before the end of the year, the couple was engaged. Raul, Christina, Aiyanna and Tyler moved into their new apartment in the Coolidge Corner neighborhood of Brookline in late 2020 and welcomed baby Maya this past spring, completing the family of FIVE— that escalated quickly!

Raul popped the question during a weekend trip to Burlington, VT in the fall. The weekend getaway came after a particularly busy time for the couple-- Raul had poured himself into his work as a scholar activist and Christina had just taken a demanding job with a new Agency. She was unsuspecting of an imminent proposal, even when she noticed a photographer squatting in the bushes nearby-- bird watching? She said yes on the banks of Lake Champlain. When you know, you know.