Before Stacey and Daniel were a couple and before they were even friends, they were teammates. Daniel, an IMer from Indianapolis, and Stacey, a distance freestyler from New York, had both elected to swim and study at Princeton University. And while Daniel and Stacey would have crossed paths on the DeNunzio pool deck, it wasn't until a 2012 Florida training trip that Daniel and Stacey spent any significant time together. It was the last day of a tough week of training, and Daniel and Stacey happened to end up sharing a lane. A set of 20 x 75 yard efforts capped a particularly difficult workout, and Stacey's body was becoming increasingly uncooperative. Daniel, leading the lane, was faring only slightly better. As the set progressed, he noticed Stacey's feet getting closer, and then closer, until he was literally running down Stacey every rep. Rather than disrupt Daniel's progress every third lap, Stacey began to submarine to the bottom of the pool whenever she felt Daniel approaching. After watching his teammate spend the better part of ten minutes at the bottom of the pool, Daniel decided that Stacey might need some encouragement. "Are you OK?" Daniel asked. "Not exactly," Stacey laughed, googles foggy from a combination of tears and rapid pressure change.

It wasn't long after that training trip that Stacey and Daniel realized they had much more in common than their sport. Daniel gravitated toward Stacey's "work hard, play hard" mentality, and her ability to find levity amidst the daily grind of athletics and academics. Stacey thought Daniel's fastidious approach to swimming was endearing (if not over the top), and she admired his ability to make and take a joke. Of course, they both thought the other wasn't too hard to look at either. Soon, Stacey and Daniel were regularly looking for excuses to spend time together. Sharing meals in the Wilson dining hall after practice. Studying in Firestone Library. Swinging through Frist Campus Center for “late meal”. Dropping by Stacey's room in Laughlin Hall for no other reason than to chat. Bopping between Cloister and Cottage on Saturday nights. Eventually, Daniel asked Stacey if she'd go on a date to Blue Point Grill on Nassau Street. A few weeks later they became a couple. And then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, their time together at Princeton came to an end. With Stacey set to pursue pre-dental requirements at Tufts University, and Daniel to remain on campus for senior year, the two found themselves at a crossroads. Certain that they wanted to stay together, but equally uncertain about what the future would bring, they shared a surprisingly emotional goodbye in the U-store parking lot. As he started the long drive home for Indianapolis, Daniel couldn't shake a profound sense of loss. This was special.

The next chapter in the story of Stacey and Daniel is so disjointed, so confusing, that only a select few can recount it from start to finish. Most know the basics. Stacey embarking on her hard-fought journey to dentistry at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Daniel starting work as an analyst in Washington, DC. Both learning how to be functioning adults away from the other. Few know the gritty details. The monthly JetBlue shuttles from DC's Reagan airport to Boston's Logan. The swampy "Vamoose" bus rides to and from New York City (a natural halfway point). The opportunistic repurposing of holidays, weddings, and other events into chances to spend time together. The monthly ritual that saw calendars compared, compromises made, and the next rendezvous planned. The missed calls. The FaceTime updates. The cycle of "hello!" followed all too soon by "goodbye". To outsiders the arrangement was difficult to understand. Refrains like "You're doing what?" and "You've been doing this how long?" were common. And in one sense, they were right. It was crazy. Indeed, Stacey and Daniel's years of distance had far less to do with reason and any rational thought process and far more to do with the heart and a mutual commitment deepening with every day. Things got easier when Daniel relocated to New England to pursue his MBA, swapping a plane ride for a quick drive down 1-93, but the goodbyes never did.

Finally, in the Spring 2019, Daniel and Stacey moved into their first apartment together – a small walk-up in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood. A significant milestone for any couple, the day was extra-special for Stacey and Daniel: the realization of dozens of conversations that had all begun with words like "someday" and "somehow". In many ways, it was a natural extension of dozens of commitments, both formal and informal, that the two had been making to each other since their first date at Blue Point Grill. Teammate. Best Friend. Dance Partner. Confidante. Teacher. Roommate. It also wouldn't be the last commitment. Among the boxes and bins that Stacey and Daniel shuttled into their new Boston home - an engagement ring. A few months later, on a warm December evening in Southwest Florida, Daniel got on one knee and asked Stacey if she would be willing to make one more commitment: to be his wife.