Similar to a lot of couples these days, we met online. We met in January 2020, just a few months before the world shut down due to COVID-19. At first, dating was normal, we’d meet at a restaurant or bar, have dinner at each other's houses, but within a month and a half, we had to make a decision as to whether we wanted to be around each other A LOT and in each other's "bubble" or wait until COVID passed (which at the time seemed like a month or 2). We had been dating long enough to know we wanted to be in each other's life. Our dates turned into walks around DC, most of the time trying to get places without looking at a map (much harder for one of us) and a lot less restaurants, bars and attractions as the world around us shut down. While unusual, I don't think either of us would have it any other way. Life slowed down and this meant that we got to spend a lot more time getting to know each other in ways where the enjoyment was dictated by us, our creativity and the humanity between us. One of the other plusses was that there were so few people around that we were often the only ones at the monuments. When else could you get pictures in the middle of a weekend afternoon of the two of you as the only ones in the Lincoln or Jefferson Memorial?

It was our 1 year dating anniversary...Jordan planned a day filled with some of our favorite things in DC and a few new additions! We first scootered (which has been one of our favorite things to do in DC during the pandemic) to the Artechouse, a museum which combines art, science and technology. After, we grabbed some hot chocolate and walked along the Wharf. When we went back to my house for a few hours in the afternoon, Jordan had found that the Smithsonian National Museum of American History was asking for everyone's 2020 stories, what life was like, what you experienced, etc. We wrote our story from meeting just before the pandemic, dating during the pandemic and impacts to both our jobs/life, especially Jordan as a teacher. Later on we had a romantic dinner at Rakuya, a Japanese restaurant in DuPont Circle, we ate outside in our own little greenhouse with lights strung around it and a much needed heater (it was January). After dinner, we went for a walk, conveniently we ended up walking by the places we went on our first date and finished at the park we went to at the end of our first date. It was there that Jordan popped the question!