I remember clearly the first time I met Joseph. My apartment had a community dog park that I attended daily. My friend, Anu and I were at the park with about four or five other neighbors and their dogs. All the dogs were rough housing and actively releasing pent up energy from the day. It was a playful atmosphere of neighbors relaxing after a work-day. I was about to leave for the day, when Joseph entered through the dog gate on the far side of the park with his two beautiful dogs, North and Montana. The Texas sun reflected off his dog's white fur at just the right angle blinding my eyes. When I re-focused my eyes from the glare, Joseph was in the center lime light of my view walking in toward our group. He looked like a Greek art statue strolling in. I nudged my friend, whispering, “Who is that guy?!” She replied with a slight smile whispering back, “Oh! that’s Joseph!” I didn’t get time to ask her more questions about Joseph because Joseph was now less than a few feet away joining our conversation. I was curious about this man. I listened as the conversation flowed throughout the group. I shyly didn’t say much so I could hear what he was about. Later, after Anu and I were walking back home, she teased me, “Why didn’t you say anything?” The truth was, I was on a healing journey and I didn’t want to date during my healing time. So I wrote the interaction off as a fun moment. I did not know it would lead to a whole love story about to unfold. A few weeks later, Anu called me. “Hey Noel, some friends are having a scary movie night and I really want to go, but I don’t want to go alone. Will you please come with me?!” I remember being tired and confessing that I was actually pretty scared of scary movies. “Pleeeeeeasse Noel, I really want you to come!” So with some push, I finally laughed and agreed. That night I found myself in Joseph's apartment with two other friends watching a scary movie. I didn’t know Joseph other than the brief moment at the park a few weeks earlier. When I came inside Anu called me over to sit next to her and scooted to the left leaving a space between her and Joseph. The night progressed well and by the end of it, we could all call ourselves friends. One late night, unable to sleep, I took my two dogs for a walk. My dogs and I ended up in the park under this beautiful full tree. I sat on the bench and enjoyed the peace. The bugs were singing me a kind song and I listened as the wind blew. I was so busy listening to the sound of the night I did not know when I looked up and Joseph had entered. He walked over to me and sat beside me. We began to talk and as we did the topic flowed into deeper conversation. Time went by as we chatted under the stars about abstract concepts, aliens, the world, the meaning of life. I enjoyed his company and realized we had so much in common and our differences fit together so well. I realized I enjoyed him and began to wonder if we could be more. I quickly brushed the thought away and reminded myself this was my friend. I continued to enjoy his company under the stars as we talked for hours and laughed. Joseph and my friendship continued for a year before it blossomed into more. I am so thankful it played out this way as we authentically got to know one another. There were many beautiful moments in this year of friendship, and even more when we started dating. The last two years of dating Joseph has been the happiest time of my life. I am so excited to continue our adventure forever. It's ironic to me to think about the first time I met Joseph because I never would have guessed that my soulmate and the man I love so much now would come strolling into the park on that hot Texas summer day. I can’t wait to see how the rest of our story unfolds and I can’t wait to build this story together.

I wish I could say more about the first day in 2021 when we met but I don't remember much except that Noel was very quiet and reserved. I was healing as well and had no interest in dating either. The first time we really started to get to know each other was at that watch party of The Thing at my place with our friends. She was a lot less reserved, screaming at the movie and a lot more talkative. Later she noticed my display of taekwondo belts and talked about how we have martial arts in common. I noticed Noel looking me up and down out of the corner of my eye while I spoke, letting me know I had caught her eye. About two weeks later Noel knocked on my door, and invited me to go see a movie with some friends. I had recently instated a "say yes more" mentality and agreed to come. Once the night arrived I learned that all Noel's other friends had canceled supposedly (It was the truth but its just to perfect to not tease her about lol.) On the way to her car, I caught her looking again making me laugh inside. We saw 99's Sleepy Hollow at a drive in theater's outdoor seating screen. There were smoke machines and it was awkwardly romantic for just two friends. But I had such a good time laughing and chatting, I was very happy I said yes. After the movie we headed back to the car talking. I stopped to marvel at the stars, when I looked towards her I felt a strong draw towards her, to kiss her. I was confused by the feeling and I was not ready for something like that, so we moved on awkwardly. This was my first sign of chemistry between us. Over the next year our friendship grew. We would hangout with friends together, go hiking, and enjoy each others company. I wasn't originally interested in Noel romantically and I'm so thankful for it because I didn't hold myself back, so we got to know each other well and become good friends. There is one moment that I remember where I think my feelings for her started to bloom. It was when we were out on her balcony. She was sitting on the ground, back against the wall, the striped shadow of the railing on her face. We had been chatting and Noel was gushing about her grandma. I marveled at the love she had inside herself and it occurred to me that "my life had changed so much and it is bound to change again, but this girl is really awesome and I really hope that she will stay in my life." Later, I had my 30th birthday party where I invited all my friends in the area. I had seen Noel in slightly flattering clothing only a few times before that night. But that night she went all out and really let herself shine. I was nearly stunned when I saw her. Because I worried about telling my friend how good she looked, I said "Wow Noel you look, interesting." She was rightfully confused by this. As the night went on, everyone was having a good time partying. That's when I saw my good friend and Noel were flirting and I got jealous. You see I'm not a jealous person and I could only remember less than a handful of other times I had been jealous in my life, so I realized that meant something. Once I had the chance I told my friend how I was feeling and he immediately backed off because he is a true friend. After multiple missed opportunities to act on my newly discovered feelings, that same friend told me 3 times "You can't just do nothing if I'm going to back off." Finally I saw my moment while Noel was dancing. I mustered up the courage to join her and after a bit of doing my best to dance confidently and some intense eye contact I made my move. I moved in close and kissed her on the lips where she kissed me back. It was the most forward I had ever been and the best chance I have every taken! It has been a little over 2 years since we started dating. We have shared in many adventures, personal triumphs and failures, great joys and great loss. Through all of it our love has blossomed into something truly wonderful and I am ready and excited to make sure it continues to grow for the rest of our lives.