We both went to the same college, had many of the same friends, visited the same bars, enjoyed the same hobbies, and have even found out that we hung out at the same houses. Yet it took 6 years of living in the same place and doing the same things to have a conversation with each other...lucky for us it only took one meeting. We met at our mutual friend Wesley's birthday party, at a country bar that neither of us would have been at without our friends. Rachael was standing at the bar talking to her friend Mark and I had to confirm that she was single before going up and asking her to dance. Sadly, neither of us can remember what cheesy line I used or why Rachael thought it would be a good idea to dance in a country bar with this city boy, but somehow it worked. What we do remember is once we were on the dance floor we didn't leave until it was closing time. We danced and talked the whole night and probably didn't celebrate Wesley as much as we should have (sorry Wes) but by the end of the night I was hooked, I had never met a woman like Rachael. It was instantly easy for us to get lost together in conversation and neither of us wanted the night to end. Luckily for me, when Rachael got in her Uber at the end of the night she "forgot" that she had left her purse with me. We talked for the rest of the weekend and into the week when finally I, believing I was smooth, asked if she wanted to come to dinner with me on that Wednesday so I could return her purse. Rachael quickly realized that night was Valentines day and that she "had to babysit", which I still need to check in with her older brother Neko to confirm. So, we had dinner the following night and never left each other's side since. From her staying at my place so she didn't have to make the long drive after night shifts at the hospital, to our Tahoe trip where she met my mom in the ER, and then finally moving in together after six months of dating. I was hers from the beginning and will be until the end.

“Let’s just go on a road trip…” That is the sentence I said to Webb at least a dozen times while we were trying to figure out where we were going to vacation amidst COVID since everywhere on our bucket list was off limits. And so, I was trying to liven our spirits and get behind the idea of a road trip, which if you know Webb and I, is definitely not our thing. Well, cut forward to December and we eventually made it to Oahu Hawaii. When we checked in, we got downgraded to a room that had no windows or balcony but luckily after much negotiation, we switched rooms! (Again a blessing in disguise I soon came to find out.) We were having an incredible vacation so the day before the proposal I asked Webb when he was going to propose and why he hadn’t asked my dad yet. Fortunately, the man I’m going to marry is quick on his feet because he came up with a lengthy story about how we should wait until after I graduate PA school, and I let the topic go. The next day Webb had planned a surprise adventure for us. During breakfast we found out that a volcano on the next island had erupted and was spewing smoke to the neighboring islands, which had Webb worrying. Turns out, if the smoke had come too close we wouldn’t have been able to go on the open door helicopter ride that he had planned for us, so yet again we dodged a bullet. After flying over waterfalls, through mountains, over pineapple farms, Pearl Harbor, the sunken USS Arizona, and the rest of the island we made our way back to the hotel. When we arrived, Webb had me run to the nearest ABC store and when I returned he swung open our hotel door dressed to a T. He ushered me to the balcony where there was champagne and chocolates waiting and he got down on one knee. I was in total shock and kept asking if it was real. I couldn’t believe I had met my dream man, my best friend, and my partner in life and that he was down on his knee. I look forward to a life full of travel, food, and adventure with you Webb, I love you!