Ravi and I met on the online dating site, Bumble, yes, we know, a millennial love story for the ages. There was something I had to ask him first before we met up in person: "Is it okay that my dog and you share a first name?!" Yes, Ravi-Dog or "J.R.", as we affectionately call him, was around before Ravi Patel came into my life. It feels like this beautiful kismet coincidence that signaled to me that I was heading in the right direction (if you can't tell, I really love my dog). Our first date was at Bosque Brewing. We shared food and stories, and it just felt easy. On our second date, we played basketball at Guadalupe Park, and that's when we both knew it was a perfect match. There was playfulness, fun, the right amount of competition, and ease. I look forward to being (quite) amateur athletes with this guy for the long haul.

So we didn't exactly have a planned-out engagement. Last fall, we decided to drive around the Enchanted Circle in New Mexico and camp along the way. After a night of camping at the Rio Grande Gorge, we woke up to make coffee and sat in our camping hammock overlooking the mountains- all snuggled up. We started talking about getting married, which we had done many times over the three years of dating. One of us said, " Hey, wanna do it now? "YEAH!" Ravi got up from the hammock and started to pick pieces of New Mexican sage. He then fashioned it into a ring. I followed suit. Then, one at a time, we got down on one knee and asked the other to make a lifetime commitment. Afterward, I set up the patio area with more NM sage, and we danced to romantic music. It was a beautiful way to get engaged!

Since we met in October of 2022, we have been on some awesome adventures together! Our first international trip was to Italy, four days after we moved into the house where we have lived together for two and a half years now. We moved out of two separate apartments into one house in a weekend and then hopped on a flight. While in Italy, we ate a lot, walked everywhere, saw a play, and explored historical sights. I even took a side trip to Slovenia with his coworker's daughter. Amazing! We also visited Costa Rica last year, which was incredible. We met so many kind and open people, and I got a massage on the beach, a peak experience. We decided, though, that our favorite trip together so far was to Olympic National Park. We stayed in an RV and, during the day, explored the hauntingly beautiful beaches in Forks, Washington, took in the sights of the Hoh Rainforest, and visited one of my dearest friends in Seattle on the way home. We enjoy being in nature together and seeing new things. He is my favorite travel buddy.

For those of you who know and love Ravi, you may have observed a deep kindness (underneath some light sarcasm), introversion, an easygoing and nonjudgmental nature, a wanderlust, and a deep wisdom in matters of acknowledging what is not ours to control. Someone who believes that time and consistency are the best communicators of care. Someone who is loyal, loves deeply, and is also not here to impress or prove- but just to be, do what he loves, and care for the people he holds dear. For myself, I am changing, extroverted/ amiverted, bold, creative, loud at times, a dancer, a therapist, a traveler, a homebody, a music maker, and a community seeker. Together, we are infinite silliness, solid pet parents, coaches to one another at each other's points of challenge, sporting "rivals", dance partners, and, most importantly, we are friends, growing all the time and navigating the pain, the mundane, the bliss, and the novelty of life. I'd say we are a balanced pairing.