It was the week following Thanksgiving in 2017. Haley was finishing up her last graduate school placement in Boston and like many young single twenty year olds living in a city, spent some time scrolling on dating apps while simultaneously stating how ridiculous it is to think you can seriously meet someone online. Cue Hudson. Now it’s still a debate on who exactly started the conversation, but it was nothing out of the ordinary….what do you do, where do you live, hobbies, etc. When learning that Hudson currently lived in RI, Haley was unsure about the potential of this moving further. Hudson quickly stated he would be in Boston the following weekend, staying with his friends for a “road race” on Sunday. A date was planned for that Saturday night in Harvard Square. Over a romantic plate of cheese fries and beer (a perfect pre race meal), Haley shared her upcoming plans to travel to Scotland for a family wedding and Hudson shared he would be spending some time in Switzerland to go snowboarding with friends. Again, Haley hesitant she would hear from him again through these busy winter months. After date number one, it was two months until date number two, and although we don’t know who started the first conversation, we know that following this first date, conversation never stopped.

The first two years of dating were accompanied by lots of 48 hour weekend visits and weekly FaceTimes after work, while living 120 miles away from each other. Both working full time jobs, neither knowing what the near future held. Neither could have predicted it would be a global pandemic that brought us under one roof. The first word of a 2 week lockdown brought many feelings, one of which (oddly enough) was excitement! Haley just moved into her first one bedroom apartment, about a month prior, and was excited to share it with Hudson for the next two weeks…. Well, two weeks quickly turned into months, eventually turning into a year. Haley quickly learned Hudson comes with minimal clothing, but maximal gear. Road bikes, mountain bikes, snowboards, and more quickly became the new living room decor. Hudson quickly learned the basic rules of closing the shower curtain and making the bed daily. Quickly outgrowing the one bedroom, we moved up to the top floor into a two bedroom apartment signing our first lease together. This is when the questioning began…”Now that you and Hudson are officially living together, is there a ring coming?” ......

Throughout the entire relationship timeline, Haley had made sure to emphasize a certain week she spends with her family and close family friends talking about how important it is to her. The week used to fall during the Fourth of July in Provincetown yearly, but due to COVID, the week was relocated to the beginning of August in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. This week also fell during Hudson’s busy season at work, but luckily his parents live not too far from the house, so he would spend his days working from home, and commuting down for dinners. Going into the week, Haley had some inklings that this could be it, so for precaution she got her nails and hair done. As the week went on, Haley began to question if her inklings were wrong. It was the final night, and Haley’s mother wanted to take family photos on the deck. This prompted Haley to blow dry her hair and look presentable (thanks mom!). Following the family photos, Hudson asked Haley if he could talk to her, grabbing her by the hand, and bringing her down to the grass. Haley knew this was it, the moment she had been waiting for, and yet the only thing she could say was “what are you doing” over and over. Hudson got down on one knee, asking Haley to marry her and it was the easiest and quickest YES ever said. We celebrated with family for the remainder of the night, and cannot wait to continue to celebrate our love with the rest of you on our wedding night!