It was March 3rd, 2024. Reza and Mary were both out with friends. As Mary would often do, she walked around making friends with strangers. It was the weekend of the Arnold Classic, when all the gym bros are out and about. Shoulder to shoulder with so many people in that packed bar, one of them stuck out more than the rest... It was a handsome boy, a head taller than everyone else, dressed nicer than most. Mary looked up, tapped Reza on the shoulder and asked, "Did you go to the Arnold?" He replied, "Yes, how do you know?" She responded, "Because, you obviously have a lot of muscles." She had no idea she was using this (not supposed to be) pickup line on her future husband. Reza laughed it off and kept the conversation going. Moments later, we learned of our mutual love for our families, culture, food, and hobbies. Reza got Mary's number and asked her on a date the very next day. I guess this is when they say, the rest is history!

Exactly one week after they met, Reza promised to take Mary out for dinner. He told her, "Dress 'fancy casual.' I'm taking us on a date." As she always did for first dates, Mary picked a cutesy outfit that wasn't too over the top for a chill date. To her surprise, in true Reza Shavali fashion, he pulled in to pick her up wearing.... A FULL SUIT, smelling very fancy, and holding the car door like a fine gentleman. A fancy dinner followed by some rooftop cocktails, Reza was pulling out all the stops. Date two was the very next day... Soon enough, Reza became the most patient, loving, gentle partner for Mary's chaos and Mary became a Farsi language student, novice Persian chef and the little fiancé to the tall, dark and handsome guy. One tap on the shoulder, to a fancy first date, to becoming Mr. and Mrs. Shavali.

I have learned that even if I planned and executed for years, once you find the right one, it will happen naturally and effortlessly. Finding a life partner is the most important decision in a person's life. I always tried to have a crystal-clear set of values that I would look for in a partner. If I know my core values, she should be an obvious match from the beginning. From there, we could put in the effort to work on small gaps in the relationship and focus on things that are important to each of us. For us, that's exactly what happened! From her little tap on my shoulder, to the hours of conversation right after. All the texts and dates month after month being effortless and organic, all because we were totally aligned on our core values. Well, minus that she wants like 10 kids and I'm over here thinking I'd definitely forget the names past 3... We always put in the effort to do nice things for each other. I remember the first time she made me Persian food in exchange for me installing a ceiling fan for her. It took me hours of trying to read a poorly translated Chinese manual and YouTube videos to get it right, all for some burned rice and a stew... but I was so happy when I saw the result. I took a lot of pictures and was bragging to my friends and family for weeks! Us men, we're a simple creatures. Just feed us good food and leave us alone from time to time and we'll kill for you! Once, we made a deal that I'd polish up my Italian for her Nonna and she'd try to learn Farsi for my Mom. She actually learned with no handholding from me and started putting sentences together with her cute little accent, which brought smiles and joyful conversation to my family and friends every time she would talk! I remember one time I came to her apartment and she said in Farsi, "Excuse me, Sir, would you like a cup of tea?" and I was like, holy moly, I think she's the one!! FYI, She didn't actually have any tea ready... It's a work in progress. She takes time to like my hobbies and tries them with me. She played soccer with me (Took her a while to figure out which goal is the opponent's and that there are no hands involved in soccer, but still a success), got her boating license to jet ski together, and flew to California to see me and my cousin after I was gone for a month straight, instead of getting mad or acting needy. I intentionally designed our trip to Catalina Island to wake up and hit the road at 4:30 in the morning, catching a ferry to the island and going underwater for scuba diving at 9am. I wanted to see how she would handle pressure and challenges, since we all know life is full of those. To my surprise, she did it all with a BIG, cute smile on her face and not a single complaint. She's not only the sweetest and kindest person I have ever met, but she's also a tough cookie! She overcame her fear, trusted and believed in me every step of the way, and for that, I'm forever grateful! She helps me to be a better man every day and makes my job of loving her so easy. I'm proud to say we haven't had even a single serious fight or complication since the day we met. So to you, my single, knucklehead friends, I'd say, "Yeah man, those girls still exist, but you gotta become the kind of man who deserves an angel first. Have clear values and goals in who you want for your partner. Once you know exactly who you are, you will always naturally come back to one particular, sweet girl, and you will find your peace with her. Before you know it... Congratulations! You've got yourself a wife!!"