My first very brief interaction and also introduction of myself to Matthew went something like this… “Excuse me, ..are you a Doctor?”. I said after walking up to Matthew while working one of my first shifts in the Emergency Department as a new RT. He laughed and declined that promotion and with a grin showing despite his mask he pointed me in the right direction. Let me make it known that this was during Covid when we all were wearing PPE still. It was difficult to figure out who was who, especially when your new! However, embarrassed I was, we still could laugh about that on down the road. Especially during a time when we just wanted a little something to make us smile when we were so worn out from running our butts off during the chaos of one seemingly never-ending night shift after another. It really wasn’t long working alongside Matthew that he earned my respect as a awesome Nurse. Empathy followed by Compassion is something that is rarely seen in healthcare, often because of the burnout and/or the constant influx of traveler employees. This was a quality that I saw in Matthew and it really drew me in, so then I sought friendship out with a Likeminded person. Little did I know that we would both have something else in common that we use daily to get through things… Sarcasm. It is a fluent language that we both speak, and we get each other pretty well. As time went on, our friendship allowed us to each be the ear that the other one needed at various times, and that meant a lot! Just taking the time to be able to let your guard down and be heard, sometimes is all you really need to keep pushing through. Well, we both needed it, however different our situations were that we were both going through. When the time was right, and Matthew and I were both single, we decided to go on a date and give it a shot. Who would of thought that one date would have been the best choice that we had both made in a long time. Needless to say, we had a great time! We talked long enough that the server was politely waiting for us to move out of the booth so they could seat someone else! ...(That’s when You know you have a good connection with someone, when you aren’t watching the clock and looking for the exit to escape the date! ) I am so excited to be with my best friend and confidant. I know we both have the support of the other, and we can go up against anything with each other, hand in hand. Anyway...That is the intro of .. what is just the Beginning of the Mae & Matthew Story! ~Mae