Joe and I grew up in Jenkintown, a very small town right outside of Philadelphia, and never met before I moved to Seattle in high school. In 2013, I moved back to Philly for "two months," and a year later (having just signed a lease in Philly), I went to hang out with old friends from Jenkintown. Little did I know, Joe had driven down from Reading to join his friends from Jenkintown... We got along extremely well from the instant the met. We talked about our jobs and our hobbies, everything we could think of. We ended that night by closing down Time while arguing over the best source of alternative energy. I was pretty smitten with his charm and intelligence, but I was also hesitant with the distance. Two weeks and one totaled car (RIP) later, Joe's persistence (and interest in sustainable energy) paid off. I agreed to a date at Good Dog, and the date was better than I could have ever expected. Joe must have thought so too, because every week for the first 5 months Joe spent hours driving and to and from the City to see me (worth it), until I gave up my car-free lifestyle to go see him (worth it).

I had this whole day planned, we'd go for a long walk around Pennypack, skip some rocks in the crick, I'd propose on the dam, and then a nice celebratory dinner in the City. The day was a cold and sunny March day, a good day for a walk in the park. I was keeping an eye out for the dam with no luck, for hours. Lisa was suspicious for sure, it could have been me fiddling with the oblong box in my pocket making sure the ring was still there. Finally! I spotted the dam; it was go time! I stepped down onto the dam from the river bank and went to help Lisa when I saw it... a dead deer floating at the edge of the dam. Time for an audible. I suggested we head back to the car; I thought I could probably steer her back by the crick where we were skipping stones. After a few other unromantic hurdles on our way back to the crick later, the park proposal was a bit ruined. Ok. Plan C. Proposal in Rittenhouse Park before dinner. Lisa seemed to be trying to understand how she misread the situation. As we were walking from the train, I could tell she was filled with dread – a mid-dinner proposal was terrifying her as we neared the restaurant. We were about half way through the park when I pulled Lisa to the side and under the park lights by the fountain, asked her to marry me. It was the longest second of my life.