In the age of the internet, we met on a dating website. Only to realize in short order, that we shared no fewer than 12 mutual friends, and a high school German teacher. It was no surprise then, that we felt from our first (four hour) date, that we'd been friends on the pool deck forever. On that first date, Lauren pointed out that she'd met two of Christian's brothers, Peter and a younger one who lived in Grand Rapids at that time, at a friend's UM Football tailgate. Christian: "I'm the only brother who has ever lived in Grand Rapids." Lauren: "Oh...well, then I met you in 2012." There were many more ships passing in the night scenarios, including the 2017 Bridge Run, where Lauren stood just feet from Christian, and noticed him to be quite handsome, AND wearing a swimming shirt (a runner and swimmer, wie kann das sein?)! But alas, he was running a different distance, and stepped out of the corral before Lauren worked up the nerve to talk with him. At that first date, she recognized him from the run, and the rest, as they say, has been history. Since April 2018, there have been "Dynamic Duo" athletic events: running, swimming, snowshoeing, and (indoor) triathlon, concerts, snow skiing, vacations with friends and family, recipe experiments (only 2 fires), church membership, and a new-to-her car for Lauren, which if you know her, is a pretty big milestone. All these adventures led to a culminating realization. We are each other's person.