We met through a dating app when we were living in Colorado. James was confident enough to invite me sailing on his Hobie Cat (that he had never set up or sailed before) for our first date; the first thing I remember him saying was "I don't really know what I'm doing, but we'll figure it out." There were a few minor hiccups... We let the boat sail away unmanned, got rained on, and capsized in the middle of the lake, but other than that the day was perfect. I learned that James is an excellent swimmer with a great sense of humor and he learned that my mom and dad did not raise a wimp. After we weathered the literal storm together, the day ended with drinking a beer in the back of his Honda Pilot and it was a done deal for both of us from that point on.
When James moved to Michigan during my second year of residency, the Hobie came with him and found its home on Torch Lake. We were out sailing on the water on a perfect sunny Saturday in August of 2022 with Kayla, one of my medical school loves and now bridesmaid extraordinaire. James started recounting the story of our didn't-go-quite-as-planned first date as he steered the boat and I basked in the sun completely clueless. The story ended with "It was probably a good sign that you should've looked elsewhere, but you didn't. I can't imagine spending the last six years with anyone but you. And I guess, with that... I wanted to ask you if you would spend your life with me?" *Cue all of the squeals and tears.* We sailed right to Uncle Tom and Aunt Linda's house and were greeted with smiles, hugs, and celebratory shots with the fam.