“It’ll never work'' she said. “You can’t start a conversation texting ‘hey’”. My sister was incredulous at the nonchalance to which I approached online dating. That’s what she said when I messaged Mady for the first time. I opened the app and sent one word, “Hey”. It was a love sonnet filled with emotion and depth in comparison to Mady’s bio, which was entirely blank. She responded, to the surprise of my sister. Our conversation was not get-to-know-you. It was fun, it was new, it was fulfilling. Texts turned into calls, which turned into Facetimes. The time finally came when we should meet up. “I’m going to meet my future husband,” she told her friends, “but let me share my location with you all, just in case”. Together we found ourselves slowly committing to a relationship. A long-distance relationship that required sacrifice, planning, and money. We found ourselves turning long-distance into long-term. Between ice skating tumbles, overrated New York City bakeries, and never being allowed to use the word “logical” during a disagreement, we somehow found ourselves falling in love. It was the moments under the Pennsylvania thunder and the coincidental pet-themed pajama gifts that matured the relationship from fun into forever. “When are we falling in love?” I asked. She practically stated, “If everything goes according to plan, March 1st” with no hesitation. She had it all planned out. She knew early on, but it wasn’t the knowing that was the hard part; it was sculpting the reality out of that knowledge. Illness is inconvenient, so Mady accommodated, even if that meant she had to wait in the rental car in winter for an hour before I could see her. We disagree, we stress, and life gets in the way, but the screams of excitement, the rush of embrace, and the warmth of her kiss is what has kept us together.

1) His sense of humor. He can always get me to laugh. 2) His easy-going personality (except when I beat him in games) 3) He is generous with his time, money, and love. 4) His commitment. When we first started dating Jeff and I lived 11 hours apart. Jeff was in his intern year of residency and working 14-hour shifts six days a week. On his day off we would each drive 5 hours (one way!!) to spend the day together. 5) HE LOVES TO COOK.

1) She can do more squats than me, that was always my first criteria in selecting a mate 2) She's filled with kindness and love. She cries at everything beautiful (even if it is used furniture) 3) Her sense of commitment is enduring and unwavering 4) Her universal charity is sprinkled with a sense of practicality and reasonability 5) We sincerely enjoy each others' successes. We don't compete, we collaborate

The premeditated date turned out to be a sunny December day in Southern California, sandwiched by an unusually rainy winter. Mady had readily accepted the invitation to do a horseback ride picnic the week earlier. I had the ring and the determination, but we needed a photographer. My sister Laurel volunteered. I taught her to ride the dirt bike that morning and her tracks led the way (she only skidded-out once from what I could see) to a beautiful flattened perch overlooking the river in Angeles Crest National Forest’s Arroyo Seco. We tied up the horses and had our picnic of ham sandwiches with clementines on my great-grandmother’s quilt. I knew Laurel was near as I saw where she stashed the dirt bike, but it took me multiple scans to finally discover her eyes peeping out beneath a camouflaged hood. She acknowledged my discovery with a raise of her eyebrows. From there I had to exert my finest distracting techniques to keep Mady from looking in her direction. Mady and I finished our meal and we began to pack up. I told her how much she meant to me. I told her I loved her. She said, “great, let’s go” and grabbed the water bottle for a swig and stops mid-gulp to realize what was coming together before her eyes. I told her what she meant to me. I needed her in my life and I asked the immortal question, “Madelyn Rose Adams, will you marry me?” From there I can’t tell if they were tears or regurgitated water somehow tracking out of her eyes, but she nodded yes and cinched her arms around my neck to kiss me.

Mady graduates from Jefferson University May 14th with her doctorate degree in Occupational Therapy. Jeff is in his second year of residency at Cornell, New York-Presbyterian and lives on the upper east side of New York City. Mady will move in with Jeff and hopefully find an OT job in geriatrics or pediatrics this summer!