Our lifelong friendship began at a Lutherhaven summer staff Red Robin meet-and-greet before training began the next day. Being my first year on staff, I (Reagan) didn't get the hypercasual memo and was wildly overdressed for the occasion in a summer dress and ankle boots while the rest of the staff showed up in some variation of t-shirts and track shorts. Nervous and introverted, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to connect with anyone right away. Luckily, a guy who had worked the year before sat across from me and assumed the archetypal class clown persona. They say that you only get one chance at a first impression and apparently my future husband decided that aggressively downing 7 bottomless root beer floats was the impression he wanted to make. We joked and laughed until our cheeks hurt. In the months to follow, we saw each other struggle, hurt, thrive, and create incredible things. A summer of playful jabs, inside jokes, and emotional support turned our friendship into a relationship and a relationship into a lifelong promise. A preacher kid punk from Oregon and a prim army brat from Ohio crossed paths three years ago to create the perfect storm for years to come.