We met sometime in either 2010 or 2011—we’re still unclear, and honestly at this point it’s part of our charm. A mutual friend introduced us when we both lived in the Seattle–Bellevue area, and we hit it off immediately… as friends. Very committed friends. Almost professionally platonic. Life took us in different directions: Eric moved to Bend, Oregon in search of mountain air and craft beer, while Michelle kept working like she was secretly holding up the entire Pacific Northwest economy. Fast‑forward to 2019, when Michelle took a sabbatical and we both found ourselves single with free time and decided to risk it all for a little romance. Then we remembered: we lived in different states! After a year of long‑distance, we were this close to ending things. Then COVID hit. So naturally, we moved in together. And somewhere between sanitizing everything, finishing countless puzzles, and a lot of cocktails, we fell in love. Since then, we’ve survived multiple moves (Bend to Ellensburg to Tacoma) before Michelle showed Eric the magic of Tacoma. Now we’re building a life we never want to leave.