We met at the most romantic place in the hospital--the ICU workroom. I was an overwhelmed intern in my second month as a physician, and Josh was a fourth-year surgical resident. We briefly crossed paths in the evenings as I was leaving for the day and Josh was beginning his night shift, but quickly discovered that we were neighbors, living just a block away from each other. Josh convinced me that staying up late on a "school night" for our first date was worth it, and it was, because we continued squeezing in time to see each other whenever we could, even if it meant compromising on some beauty sleep. A fall trip to Asheville sealed the deal, and we officially became a couple. The next two years of our relationship flew by in a blur of cooking dinner for each other, roadtrips exploring the country, and even being in the operating room together. We added our fur baby Rigsby to our family June 2020, just before Josh moved to Seattle to start his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship. We have been making the most of the distance by enjoying the best of both coasts, from family trips in Isle of Palms to oysters on the beaches of Anacortes. We're looking forward to starting married life in the same place summer 2022!

I arrived to Seattle to visit for a long weekend in February 2021. When Josh picked Rigsby and me up from the airport on Friday night there were snow flurries, but we woke up Saturday morning to a foot of snow! Poor Josh's plan to spend the weekend in a cabin on the coast was foiled--we were completely snowed-in. Instead we spent Saturday walking Rigsby in the winter wonderland that was Josh's neighborhood, and being cozy in the apartment--Josh hid his frantic proposal replanning well. On Sunday we managed to dig the 4Runner out, and went to Discovery Park, a beautiful scenic hike along the Seattle coast that ends on the beach. It was still snowing, but we bundled up and strapped on the snowshoes. When we eventually made it to the beach, Josh got down on one knee and popped the question with a beautiful sapphire ring. We were giddy with excitement and our entire walk back was filled with swapping stories of my suspicions that the proposal was imminent, and all of Josh's behind the scenes snowstorm proposal planning chaos. We celebrated with oysters and champagne, snuggles with Rigsby, and of course family FaceTimes.