Day one of orientation on site at their new teaching jobs was an exciting one. Gillian had just moved to Colorado Springs, CO from Charleston, SC and was looking forward to teaching advanced Spanish. Dale, also new to the Springs, had just moved from Fort Collins, CO and got hired at the same school to teach Business and Technology and coach soccer. During lunch, the District Superintendent made a welcome speech in which he mentioned that over the last few years of new teacher groups, there have been four married couples that met at orientation. He wondered if that would happen again in this group. Dale looked at Gillian and wondered about it himself. Fast forward to the first teacher work day at the beginning of the school year-- some coworkers had planned to get together for pizza at Walter's, but when the time came, Dale and Gillian were the only ones to show up. This made for their first one-on-one time together. Gillian was impressed by Dale's T-shirt, which he'd bought at a concert by one of her favorite bands. Dale was confused as to why Gillian didn't have a Southern accent. They were both surprised to find out the other liked the same kind of pizza-- pineapple, bacon, and jalapeño. Within the first 6 months after meeting, Dale and Gillian cooked for each other, attended the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival, hiked several trails, celebrated each other's birthdays, and spent Thanksgiving with Dale's family in Steamboat Springs, CO. The way things worked out, it seemed like fate continued to bring them together. When they began talking about moving in together, Gillian's apartment building burned down, which offered the opportunity to make that happen. Then, during a Spring Break trip to England and France, Dale popped the question in front of the breathtaking York Minster and Gillian enthusiastically said yes. They're currently living in Colorado Springs with their new baby Kinnick and two pups Messi and Khione.