We're Getting Married!

Pat and I had actually started at Virginia Tech at the same time in 2015, but we didn't actually meet until I came back to start my Masters in Public Health in 2021. One summer night in 2021, I went out with some friends to play music bingo at our favorite bar, Hokie House. That night, Pat was working and I mentioned to my friend that I thought the bartender was cute. She said that she knew him and had a friend who knew him more closely and would text her to get Pat's number. Coincidentally, Pat had texted that same close friend to tell my friend he wanted my number. After exchanging numbers, we started texting and planning our first date. On our first date, we went downtown in Blacksburg to Hokie House (of course) and brought a few friends to go on a double date with us. However, I didn't talk to Patrick for the first 45 minutes of the date and just talked to my friends the entire time. I was so nervous and didn't know what to say. After a little bit of time (and a shot of liquid courage), we started chatting and realized how well we actually vibed together. We spent the rest of the night hanging out and talking about our lives and dreams, and even started planning our next date, which we decided would be the next day. The next morning, we drove to the New River Junction to go tubing on the river and recover from the evening before. We got some tacos from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant at a local Mexican market (if you know, you know) and spent the day soaking up the sun and floating down the river. While at the river, we talked about how much we loved to be in each other's presence and didn't want the date to end, so we decided that we would hang out again the next day and go on another date. The next morning, we both woke up exhausted from being in the sun the day before and had no interest in moving from our beds, let alone going out on another date. However, we still wanted to see each other, so we ordered some takeout, put on some comfy clothes, and sat in my bed for the whole day watching movies and sharing memes. When Pat and I think back on these moments, we think it's so funny the way everything happened. How did we have so many mutual friends but had never met before? How did we manage to have a 3-day date? Where would we be if we hadn't found each other? Now, after many years of being together (and a few more furry friends added to the family), we wouldn't change a thing!