"She's pretty cute," Scott thought as he looked across the breakroom at Megan. The two of us were both working part-time at Mount Vernon (Megan while working on her master's degree and Scott as a side hustle), and Scott decided to shoot his shot. We had our first date at Tupelo Honey, a Southern restaurant in Arlington, VA, on November 13, 2019. Unbeknownst to Scott, Megan skipped studying for one of her grad school exams to have dinner with him. When Megan laughed at one of Scott's bad puns, Scott knew he had something special. Other dates soon followed as we bonded over our mutual love of travel, reading, and dogs. With the start of 2020, we excitedly planned out some of the trips we'd go on together... ...but 2020 had other plans. Instead of traveling together, we spent much of the year hanging out at Scott's apartment and visiting local parks. When Scott was sent to Niagara Falls on a month-long business trip, we kept in touch through text, phone calls, Zoom, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. As the world opened up, and after both of us got vaccinated, we finally started to make good on some of those travel and exploring plans. Scott introduced Megan to the wonders of hiking, and Megan introduced Scott to the wonders of spending Christmas and New Years in Tampa, where the weather is warm and coats aren't needed. In 2022, we moved in together. When Scott traveled across the United States on Amtrak, Megan flew out to meet him in Santa Fe. While visiting the Grand Canyon, she even convinced him that riding a mule along the edge of a canyon was a good idea. In December 2023, Scott took Megan on a trip to Richmond to see the Nutcracker ballet. When we got back to their B&B, Scott dimmed the lights, started playing music from Megan's favorite movie (Pride & Prejudice), and got down on one knee.