Ani

Chad and I met for the first time at the Wicker Park Collectivo Coffee on a Saturday morning. I wasn't so sure how a date from Hinge was going to go, so I made sure to tell him I had plans later that morning in case I needed to make a hasty exit. I ended up regretting that when it came time for my fake plans and I didn't want to leave!

Over the next several months, I definitely threw him off the deep end. He came to Bloomington for my sister's graduation, I took him waterskiing for the first time (and he crushed it, my dad calls him 'Full Throttle' now), and brought him down to my family's place on the Ohio river to see if he could cut it as a river rat. He certainly passed.

Then, I got the opportunity through work to move to Denver and start a new office. We had only been dating for about 6 months. Needless to say, telling Chad I wanted to go 1,000 miles away was not something I was looking forward to. In classic Chad fashion, he was nothing but supportive and excited for me, which takes us to the next chapter.

Chad

What I loved most about our first, simple coffee date was simply how the concept of time seemed to disappear. It was an immediate hit and we were engrossed in conversation from start to Ani's fake-excuse to end. Whether it was hobbies we shared such as skiing, to books we've read, to career aspirations and gripes, we were constantly in sync.

After that, it was quickly into the fray of the family's on both sides as Ani also joined us for a boat cruise the day after my sister's wedding in Chicago.

What I remember most is the bike rides along the lake, the long weekend drives to visit each other's families, and crossing off new restaurants together in the city.

Ani

Ooof long distance is an adventure. Luckily I have some really awesome friends and a sister who gave us some fantastic advice for how to manage it: Always have your next visit on the calendar before you leave and embrace virtual date night! Distance was tough, but work from home flexibility definitely made it easier. The highlight was definitely Chad coming to Denver for a whole month during ski season.

Then he asked me if I could come to Chicago for Presidents day weekend. I agreed, although I had to wonder why he wanted to spend a prime February ski weekend in Chicago instead.

....

Chad

While I was bummed that there was going to be an extra 1000 miles or so between us, I was more excited to be a part of Ani's move to Denver; from counting cows during the drive across Iowa/Nebraska, to celebrating Easter the weekend we arrived.

Having the flexibility to come out for a week(s) at a time really helped us maximize our time and adventures together while getting a hang of the distance aspect. Thankfully plenty of non-stop flights between Denver and Chicago as well.

At the end of the day, I knew I didn't want to do distance forever and with the help of her family, I started scheming an excuse to have her come back to Chicago one February weekend.

Ani

We immediately started making plans for Chad to move to Denver. He arrived on May 5th, a day my Denver friends had branded 'Cinco de Chad'. I've quickly gone to work pushing my hobbies on him! Mostly joking, but there have been a LOT of long bike rides. We aren't sick of each other yet :) I cannot wait to welcome all of you to Denver to celebrate with us!

Chad

Leaving Chicago.. long time coming! Going back to when Ani mentioned she had the opportunity to move west, I knew deep down there wasn't much to worry about. We had built a strong bond while in Chicago which was only reaffirmed during the weeks and months of distance so it was a treat when it was my turn to load up the U-Haul with her help this time.

Since moving; the skiing, hiking, biking, camping, & Jeeping hasn't been too bad either!