Kirk and I met through OKCupid, a dating app in April of 2020 and after a few dates over zoom, we met in person on May 5th to take a walk together in Tyler State Park. I wore a mask during the walk after the initial "seeing each other" but Kirk did not. It was fun to discover we both drove Mazda 3's! We had plenty to talk about and Kirk recalls that I talked a lot about my sister Anita on that first walk. I subsequently requested that Kirk consider also wearing a mask on the next walk, which he did. Over the next couple of months, we continued to meet for more walks in parks and picnics (where we sat about 10 feet from one another). Perhaps on the fifth or sixth in-person date, I told Kirk that I didn't want to stay 6 feet apart any longer, so we took the plunge and had our first kiss while sitting on a bench at Fort Washington State Park. We quickly became part of each other's "pod" - riding our bikes along many trails, cooking meals together, tuning into several live-streamed concerts (including the Philly Folk Festival), eating ice cream cones, and all the while talking, talking, and talking about so many things that we both found interesting. By July 2020, we introduced each other to our parents for the first time. Because the pandemic limited our ability to socialize with many other people, we were afforded time to focus on this new wonderful relationship, that we both knew was really special. Fast forward to fall of 2022 when my beloved Philadelphia Phillies showcased their best stuff of the season during the post-season. After jubilantly jumping up and down in our living room when they won the National League pennant, sending them to the World Series, I thought to myself, "I am so happy! But I know a way I could be even happier...." So I started a conversation later that evening that ended with us being engaged! Yippee!!! (The Phillies have promised Sarah they will win it all in 2023)

Sarah and I didn’t meet on a peace march in Washington, nor at a cherry-pie eating contest at the Lancaster County Fair, nor in a karaoke bar singing “Closer to Fine” as a duet. I didn’t run after her car for three blocks from the supermarket, yelling “Hey!!! You dropped your reusable grocery bag with two bananas in it!!!” We weren’t at the Boston Library; she didn’t tap me on the shoulder to whisper in my ear “I’m reading the Western Quaker Reader too!!!” Sarah and I didn’t meet by chance. Each of us was intentionally looking for a life partner, and not surprisingly - there’s an app for people doing that. Actually, there are quite a few. But just by chance, we chose the same one - OKCupid ™ (“…the only online dating app that matches you on what really matters to you – and it’s free!”) I selected the free option. Sarah, in a rare departure from Quaker frugality, must have decided that she’d get more bang for her buck with a paid account. This allowed her to see who had “Liked” her profile, giving her the time to perform all necessary due diligence, before reaching out to her would-be-suitor and “Liking” him back. Oh, brave new world…. Happily, I met Sarah’s minimum requirements and we “matched”!!! This resulted in an exchange of exploratory text messages (now, sadly lost to history), followed by our first conversation, a 45-minute phone call on a warm April afternoon, during which I wandered back and forth from the front to back yard seeking the best cell phone reception possible. The conversation was only cut short when Sarah announced she needed to attend a zoom session of the Haverford Corporation. I thus learned from the beginning that “meetings” are VERY important to Sarah; They remain a major plot point in our life together. Intrigued and encouraged from our phone call, we met for a first “date” at Tyler Park. I was somewhat disappointed that Sarah refused to take off her mask, but thought it promising that each of us was driving a Mazda 3. During our walk, I heard all about Anita, the house in Casco Maine, the family connection to China, someone named Anna Crusis, the importance of spatulas… And other major plot points began to develop: a mutual love of music, complementary spiritual / political / philosophical beliefs, a keen interest in the making (and eating!!!) of food, a love of nature, a love of books, a love of cats and other animal companions. We texted, zoomed, talked with greater regularity, got together for walks, picnics, bike rides, and kite flying. I met Sarah’s parents. She met my mother and son. Soon we were spending every weekend together. This continued through all of 2021 and into the middle of 2022, when we decided that we’d had enough of being apart 4 days a week, and I moved into Sarah’s apartment flat in Yardley. After a few months, we concluded that it was only natural that we marry. But really very little has changed. We still have our schedules. Sarah does choir on Monday. I run food pantry on Wednesday. In between we take walks, visit our families, bike the canal, swim wherever Sarah can find water, I strum my guitar, she sings on the couch, we keep up with friends, sit together for breakfast and dinner, we go out to hear music, read side by side in bed… but if you’re really wondering what Sarah and I are doing at any given time, it’s probably the same thing which drew us together at the beginning. We’re always talking - about cats, what we’re having for dinner, the fifty years of our lives we spent apart, the years we will spend together, but most of all – You!!! You, our family and friends, who we love, whose stories are so intertwined with ours, with whom we look forward to celebrating our joy at having found each other – and not by chance. We were always intended to be. See you in May!!!!