Our first date was at a Portland restaurant called American Local and we got several plates to share. There were awkward pauses, horrible grilled peaches, and Kristin's shock when Van ate those peaches. After dinner, we walked down to Salt & Straw ice cream and the rest of the night was filled with amazing conversations. That walk ended up lasting several hours as neither one of us wanted the night to end. Van walked away surprised he found someone who laughs at his jokes and looked forward to future dates filled with laughter. Kristin walked away confused that this amazing man was single and tried to figure out how that happened.

By our second date, I knew Van was the type of person whom you date to marry or you do not date. I previously thought I would never chose to do a long distance relationship and my internship year was just over a year away. I thought it would be a struggle to figure out what to do, however, deciding to date Van was a very easy decision. Our fourth date lasted about 17 hours and Van planned the entire day. We started with Plein Air painting event where we watched local artists painting in the open courtyard. This was followed by visiting the art museum exhibits and checking out all the different floors. We ended the day at the Bite of Oregon event where we tried alligator and listened to horrible music. I enjoyed every moment of that day and as I rode the max home, I knew Van was worth whatever challenges would be thrown our way. It was two weeks later when I recognized I was in love with him. By the time we were dating for six months we already had conversations on religion, kids/parenting, family values, and intercultural dating. I knew we had similar values, open communication, and were honest with each other. Within the first year, I knew marriage was in our future and have never regretted my decision.

Sometimes, the best things are the things that are unexpected. After deciding to put my love life on-hold, I unexpectedly ended up on a date with Kristin. I remember the first time I met Kristin, not sure what to expect (I was even still on-call for work… and as luck would have it, I was not paged!). I ended up finding someone who was immensely intelligent and kind (and of course with the same humor!). After the first date, I began to think maybe there was more to discover. As I got to know Kristin better over the following months, I found something that I didn’t know I was looking for. Kristin was the first person I really got to know on a truly deep level. I found a person with whom I could feel safe sharing everything with, and whom challenges me to be better and to see things in a new perspective. As months turned to years, I knew we were meant to be together forever.