Jack and I met at work in a time of tremendous change for me. In the whirlwind of a new city and a new job, I was instantly drawn to his sense of humor, his warmth, and his data processing skills. We spent the first few years of our relationship as friends, exploring this city we love so much as well as most higher education mechanical rooms across the county. As we navigated our independent lives, we kept coming back to each other as friends, companions, and confidants. Simply put, I could not shake Jack; I was in love with him the whole time.

Jack and my story doesn’t come down to a specific location, time, or event, but rather, it’s the last seven years we’ve spent navigating our independent lives together as partners. Jack and I have lived apart, we have lived together, we have been sick, we have been healthy, we traveled and stayed-in, have changed jobs and moved houses and cities, and we have always come back to each other. After all, he is my friend, companion, and confidant, and I am excited to soon add another label to that list… my husband!

We were coworkers first, friends second, then after many years of friendship, a couple. I often say that our story is not your typical love story, but what I love about it is that it's real and genuine, and is a story of two people who just couldn't seem to stay away from one another. Early on, I would tell my Mom about what I was doing, who I was hanging out with, etc. and the name "Zoe" kept coming up in conversation. My Mom eventually told me a story about how someone she knew was friends first with their eventual partner to which they said, "I just one day realized life is just that much better with them around." I realized at that moment that having Zoe in my life just made everything that much better.

In my early to mid 20s, while Zoe was attending high school yearbook meetings, planning proms, and asking permission to leave the house on weekends (probably), I was living the bachelor life in Connecticut and Philadelphia. I wanted to go places: tailgate as many Eagles games as I could, road trip across the country, go to all the concerts, etc. I was also actively going to weddings all over the country, seeing all of my best friends marry their soulmates. I always liked adding a fun adventure on the way when I took these trips, like going to Cooperstown to see the Baseball Hall of Fame on my way to Sonni and Kol's wedding. And as single man for most of my 20s, I often went on these trips alone or sometimes not at all. While I was ecstatic for my friends, I couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of the heart that I hadn't found that "one" yet to be able to share all these things that I wanted to do. Of course, I didn't know who that "one" was yet, but little did I know it was Zoe the whole time.

I love how much we've supported one another along the way. Since we've been together we both have changed jobs multiple times, had surgeries, and had deaths in the family that we helped each other get through. We've also invested in each other's futures - Zoe moved to Vermont for a year for her MBA, and I moved to Miami for a year to pursue a career change - all while the other stayed home to steward the Philly life we love so much.

Zoe has been the spark in my life since we've been together. We've driven to the mountains (Philly to Montana). We've driven to the edge of the country (Philly to Key West). We've driven to the desert (Philly to New Mexico). We share music. We've been to music festivals and see music as much as we can. We tailgate, we go to sporting events. We go to museums. We travel. We see movies, we go out to eat at restaurants. We cook, we order in. We go on walks. We go on hikes. We play frisbee golf, we play real golf. We're spontaneous. We're predictable. We're everything I've always wanted.