Like most modern day love stories between 2 city-dwelling millennials (don’t call us hipsters), John and Claire’s relationship started with, ‘Where did you go for Peace Corps?’ For those who met in a bar 20+ years ago, there’s this new thing called online dating. It’s kinda terrible, but also the only hope for humankind, because people don’t meet in bars anymore. Bumble is an online dating app where, for straight folk at least, the female has to start the conversation. Bumble prompts users to write their ‘Likes’ and ‘Dislikes’. So picture this… Claire reads through John's profile– John’s Dislikes: people who don’t like animals Claire (not an animal person, never had a pet, pretends to be allergic): I think I’ll swipe right (translation: based on his profile, there’s a low chance of me being murdered. Probably. I will see if he uses complete sentences and ‘you’re’ appropriately and then decide if it’s worth the risk to meet in person. If you aren’t laughing, you’ve never tried online dating.) After Claire’s prize-winning intro (see above), John and Claire messaged back and forth before meeting in person at a local St. Louis Brewery, Four Hands. You won’t believe this (you probably will), but they cut us off at 2000 characters. I know, who would cut us off? Anyway, keep reading at ‘What Happened Next?’

Highlights from early dates: John and Claire awkwardly meet in the parking lot before going into Four Hands for what turned out to be a pretty great and not awkward date. (Date 1) Claire grabs John’s nearly empty plate out of the waitress's hands before finishing his super yummy brussel sprouts (I swear we are not hipsters). (Date 2) Claire beats John in bowling (John says it was basically a tie. This is being included under protest.) John learns the key to Claire’s heart: Ted Drewes frozen custard. (Date 3) Claire and John play mini golf. Claire had recently learned that a close friend, Rachel, had died. She thought about cancelling, but 1) knew Rachel would have definitely told her to go and 2) Claire foresaw that John would be a good listener. This premonition would be very true for this date, but not as true over time. (Date 4) John cooks dinner for Claire–foreshadowing for his life ahead. (Date 5) Fast forward to January 2019. Claire and John buy plane tickets to Vietnam for July 2019. Questions pondered: Are these tickets fully refundable? Do people in Vietnam speak English? Will we still be dating?

Fast forward to Claire proposing to John. (Yes, Claire proposed. It’s 2020, okay?) Taking it back to the spot where it all started, on January 11th, Claire and John sat at the same table where they had their first date. (This was not as simple as it sounds. Shout out to the delightful couple who changed tables when Claire told them what was stirring. They later videotaped the proposal and were part of our portrait mode photo shoot.) When Claire asked John to marry her he said, “Do your parents know about this?” Claire was like, “Umm, yeah, why do you ask?” Turns out, the Monday prior, John had asked Sue and Wayne for their blessing for him to propose to Claire. Great minds think alike, eh? Anywho, John said yes! Post proposal, John and Claire headed to a St. Louis Blues hockey game and saw the Blues beat the Rangers 5-1. (This is totally not important or the main part of this proposal story, but the Blues won the Stanley Cup later that season.) Wedding planning, house buying, wedding planning, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID (you know the story), here we are today, planning a Zoom wedding, but not mad about it because #publichealth and we just love each other a lot and want to be married. You surely laughed a lot while reading this and hopefully you know how thankful we are for you and the ways you have been and continue to be part of our story.

Born and raised in Somerset, Kentucky, John William David Eads...yes, 2 middle names---it’s a Southern thing...grew up the youngest child of Pam and David Eads. He loved playing in the woods at his Mamaw’s, skateboarding, pouring over books, getting his older sister Sarah in trouble for things he’d done (they’re cool now), music (concerts, playing guitar), and hanging out with friends. Following high school, John attended Murray State University, receiving a degree in Social Work with a minor in Spanish. John then joined the Peace Corp in Peru. He moved to St. Louis in 2016 to attend Washington University for his Master’s in Social Work. John now works for Barnes Jewish Hospital in the Social Work Department and even though it's new for him, he's loving it! Another joy in John’s life is his involvement with St. John’s Episcopal Church. Along with attending church there (currently via Zoom), John just finished two years as the Senior Warden (like church president). Today John lives in St. Louis and while he has matured in many ways, his boyish charm and love of video games and music remain. John and Claire met on Bumble (see ‘Bumble Success Story’). This online dating app prompts users to add ‘Likes’ and ‘Dislikes’ to their profile. See below for John’s favorite and not-so-favorite things. Likes: pizza, running, beer, cooking, football, concerts, podcasts, interrupting people, video games, Instagram, traveling, driving, sushi, BBQ (maybe the hardest part about becoming vegetarian), movies, whiskey, hockey. Dislikes: people who don’t like animals, olives on or in anything ever, being cold, being hot, Halloween, the pressure of giving gifts for birthdays or Christmas, sweet foods (with several exceptions), people interrupting him, capitalism.

Although she would have you believe she was born in St. Louis, Claire was actually born in University City, Missouri. And Claire isn't even her real name. It's probably a good thing I'm telling this story, because I know the truth. Christina AKA Claire lived a relatively normal life, just like any other K through 12 private Lutheran educated kid with siblings who are like fifteen years older. She played volleyball at school, was like class president or something equally overachieving, and probably graduated with honors. She ended up at a private Lutheran university - shocker - called Valparaiso, where her parents met. Claire had like four majors in College - none of which are education related. She was homecoming queen and still acts like a [drama] queen every. single. day. She probably graduated college with some kind of honors too, but don't hold me to that. Claire had three formative experiences during and after college. She worked for a consulting firm and hated it. She also lived in DC and worked for Senator Claire McCaskill for a time. Finally, she spent a year in some kind of Lutheran service corps where she lived in a tiny English town outside of Liverpool doing youth group stuff. Claire is now teaching kindergarten in the Lindbergh School District in St. Louis County, where she wouldn't trade her job for the world, except for the days when she totally would, especially during COVID, but really she wouldn't. Unless.... likes: breakfast, yoga, barre, first lunch, Taylor Swift, second lunch, first snack, finishing other people's food, plants, second snack, her hair, Apple, apples, pre-dinner pre-game snack, James Bond, pizza, and my cooking dislikes: most of my music probably, my rants and rambles, video games, that feeling you get when you know you've overcommitted but it's too late to uncommit so now you're stuck with too much on your plate but you'll feel bad if you don't do it all and do it well, tempeh

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