Our story - told from Ethan’s perspective.

As many of you know our story began quite a few years ago at The University of Toledo. University Hall, to be exact. Andrea and I happened to be in the same calculus class and when I walked in the first day and saw her sitting there shaking with excitement for all the math she was about to do, that is when I knew I had to get to know this girl. Some of you may have read through the sarcasm or may know Andrea's distaste for math, but lucky for me Andrea was able to dissociate between her feelings for me and math. Now although our first encounter was the start of "our story" we did not hit the ground running. We were cordial throughout first semester and just so happened to share a few key mutual friends who I think helped provide us the spark to ignite our relationship. As Andrea and I got to know each other better we started spending more time together; primarily studying or prepping as we both had our sights set on pharmacy school. Maybe I should have realized when Andrea decided to spend Valentine’s day with me to watch a movie that maybe we were something more, but it was not until spring break of sophomore year with some delicate scheming from our mutual friends (yep the same ones as before) that we officially became a couple.

From that moment on we have been inseparable…if we could help it. Shortly after our relationship started we began pharmacy school at The University of Toledo and the next few years were a blur. I got to know and love Andrea as the hardworking, kind, compassionate, smart, personable, and funny woman she has grown to be as we tackled and (not to toot our own horns) honestly kind of owned pharmacy school. Towards the end of pharmacy school we knew that we were committed to each other and had set our eyes on post-graduate training with residency. We both liked the idea of moving out of Ohio to something new. Ultimately the alure of the mountains, craft beer, temperate weather, and pharmacy practice drew us to North Carolina.

Unfortunately, as sometimes things go, the pharmacy match and residency process placed us apart. Me in Cleveland and Andrea in Greensboro, NC! This was overall a trying time for us; we were both at busy PGY1 residencies that kept us going from sun up to sun down (not exaggerating) and although this time apart was grueling I think it helped us grow to value and appreciate what time we were able to spend together. Every minute counted: the 30 minutes on the phone on the way home from work or the whirlwind weekend traveling and meeting up for sometimes only about 24-36hrs (because what is PTO during residency?). It was tough but we still shared some great memories throughout the process, including our first Asheville trip where we grew to love that quirky town… (and maybe is one of the reasons why we are dragging you there for our celebration on October 18th!)

Luckily, after completing our first year of residencies apart we were both able to make it to NC for our second PGY2 year. And this time it allowed us to live together in Graham, NC a charming small NC town we grew to love for its one brewery (albeit one of the best we’ve had in NC), one cocktail bar, one ice cream shop, and one dinner spot. I would be remiss to not mention that this also brought me and Chloe (our cat Andrea got during PGY1 year) together under the same roof). And even though we were both driving 30+ minutes each way for our daily commute it was just great to have each other back in the same state/city/apartment again! We had another fast and furious year with residency and I yet again was first hand to watch Andrea continue to kill it in her professional career and by the end of residency year we knew that we were headed to Durham.

In Durham we felt a sense of relief as it was our first time after almost 8 years of schooling to finally have time to settle down. We enjoyed nights spent cooking after work, daily walks, and of course travel almost every weekend as we love to do. This time, while wonderful, was fairly challenging for me professionally, but not a day went by that I did not have overwhelming love and support from Andrea and it again just showed how amazing of a woman she continues to be. And after a brief stint and one year in Durham we ended up making yet another move (hopefully the last for a while!) to Charlotte, NC.

And although we do not yet know why exactly we are meant to be here we have been able to establish ourselves in a new (to us) house that we hope to build into a beautiful home that we can fill with friends and family for years to come. So please come visit, but give us some time for renovations first 😊

When you have been together for 7 going on 8 years it is really hard to distil it down to just a few sentences, but to say the least I am one lucky guy to have met this special girl a rather fateful few years ago.

We look forward to celebrating with many of you who all have had a place in our relationship over the years. We love you guys!

Ethan and Andrea

PS (from Andrea): Ethan is way too kind to me in that story. I swear he wrote it all without any prompting from me! That’s just a true example of how sweet he is and how lucky I am <3 - Andrea