With all the bars and restaurants closed in May 2020, all the single good looking people could be found on dating apps. After many swipes left, we each swiped right at just the right time to make a match. Unsure of what to say to the seemingly serious naval officer in a suit, Tara asked JP whether he prefers the aisle or the window seat on an airplane. JP answered that he prefers the aisle because he's tall (win!), but that “Aisle Privilege” comes with certain responsibilities. Aisle Privilege means that the person who sits in the aisle has to get up for the center or window-seater without eye rolling, groaning, scowling, or making any negative response whatsoever. If that doesn’t describe why JP is a wonderful partner for life's many travels, I don’t know what does.

After three virtual dates of deep and brutally honest conversation, we finally decided to meet in real life. On Friday, June 5, 2020, Tara invited JP over to her home (the bars and restaurants were still closed.) Unbeknownst to JP, he had to brave survivor-level obstacles if he wanted to make it to Tara's front door. First, he had to rescue a case of wine from colonies of ants. Next, he had to vault over yellow tape and orange cones, without dropping his precious cargo. Finally, he had to dash through swarms of (possibly deadly) bees to the safety of the front door. What a hero! He was rewarded with a glass of wine, and the rest is history.

We spent a lot of time at home in 2020, primarily due to Navy regulations that were implemented at the end of June and restricted JP's ability to travel or even leave the house. One of our favorite past times was the YouTube power hours: 60 minutes of one minute video clips. Although JP swore that he was a New Yorker and therefore prevented from liking country, Tara wore him down. He soon came to love greats like Toby Keith and Alan Jackson. During Toby Keith's "Should Have Been a Cowboy," JP routinely questioned why the "New York minute" was different than anyone else's minute. On Saturday, April 15, 2023, we were watching a 90's Country Music Power Hour, when Toby Keith came on, singing: " bet you've never heard ol' Marshal Dillon say Miss Kitty, have you ever thought of runnin' away? Settlin' down, would you marry me If I asked you twice and begged you, pretty please? She'd have said, "Yes", in a New York minute They never tied the knot, his heart wasn't in it He just stole a kiss as he rode away He never hung his hat up at Kitty's place." To which Tara responded: "I'd say yes, but no one has asked me yet." With that prompt, JP pulled out the ring box from where he had stashed it under the couch earlier that morning, got on to his knee, and asked "Will you marry me?" And Tara said "yes" in a New York minute.