Happily Ever After

Tale as old as time, Dave and I met online. It was the height of the COVID pandemic in summer 2020, but after chatting online, and then, on the phone (for hours), we both knew we wanted to take the chance to meet. It's safe to say, that risk paid off! I knew Dave was special when he offered to change our second date from a planned dinner to instead offering to be there with me to humanely end the suffering and put to sleep my beloved tuxie cat, Seeker. Dave accompanied me for that life changing event, comforting me in his steadfast way during my time of grief. The rest, as they say, is history. Our early dating consisted of eating in makeshift outdoor restaurants in the streets (quite literally) of Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood, socially distanced walks in Lincoln Park, and holing up in my studio apartment in downtown Chicago. When we were apart, we stayed in near constant communication, developing patterns of daily check-ins, touchstones, and symbols that have stayed with us as our relationship has evolved and grown. In the summer of 2022, after 2 years of only seeing each other on weekends thanks to the distance between our homes, Dave asked me to move in with him in the suburbs. It was a big leap for both of us, but I was ready to leave the city, and we were both excited to enter a new chapter of our relationship and lives. While blending our family wasn't always easy at first, our deep love for one another along with Dave's deep fatherly love for his children made finding balance so worth it. We celebrated 4 years of dating in the summer of 2024, and I made it known to Dave that I was ready to take the next step, saying I'd like to be engaged by this time next year. Luckily for me, Dave was on the same page and within a few months, he put a ring on it! Dave surprised me, proposing on Sept. 27th in the beautiful new park in Antioch, the slow-paced suburb we call home. We are looking forward to celebrating our marriage with our closest family & friends during summer 2025.