Armando and Sara met on Bumble during the early days of June 2018. Sara had just completed her first year of School Counseling down in SW MN and came back to Fargo, ND to spend the summer with family and friends. Unfortunately, Saras family dog had to be put down right after they started talking and Armando would later reflect on the memory, saying he was pretty sure she was making up an excuse not to talk to him. But talk they did, which led them to their first date: midnight milkshakes at Krolls. Which led to another date, and another, and another until they both realized they wanted to be exclusive.
Sara left Fargo one time that summer and that was so she could travel down to Southern Iowa to pick up her soul dog, Queenie the Corgi. This had been in the works for almost four months as Sara contacted a Corgi breeder in mid-February and was first in line to choose from their April litter. But what a perfect time for Queenie to join this story as she was ready to come home right after Saras first dog passed and Armando had just come into Saras life. Armando was the first person she even got to meet from Saras life (and I think that has truly helped their Queenie/Papa bond!)
After Sara had to go back down to Marshall, they spent a lot of time on the phone or messaging each other until they could meet each other throughout the fall and winter months. In early 2019 they decided to move in together and went through a lot of growing pains as they learned how to navigate each others lives and take their relationship to the next level. During this time, Armando introduced Sara to WWE Wrestling, the TV show The Strain, and a number of movies shed never seen before. Sara, in return, showed Armando the wonderful world of The Office, playing Ark: Survival Evolved on Xbox, and anime/nostalgic TV shows. A pivotal point in their relationship that year was when Armando chose to get clean from alcohol and walk the path of sobriety. He has not had a sip of alcohol since December 6th, 2019. Sara supported Armando through this process and after a couple drinks that summer for special occasions, she realized she didnt care to drink anymore and she has not consumed alcohol since July 24th, 2020.
When COVID hit, both Armando and Sara were considered essential workers so they were blessed to still have work to do, albeit Sara worked from home for 11 weeks that spring. While many relationships floundered, Armando and Sara both agree that COVID helped make their relationship strong and solid. They truly enjoyed the extra time they had together. While Armando is much more extroverted than Sara, both enjoy their hermit lifestyles, so being told to stay home and stay inside was not the end of the world for them!
Their relationship stayed steady (and maybe a bit boring) for quite a while. They still lived down in Marshall, MN and worked in their same professions. Armando started to pursue some new adventures by starting college at MState and streaming sporadically on Twitch for a couple years. But they were leaning more and more toward moving closer to their families as the years went on. A few family deaths really got them thinking about where they wanted to be in life. Their whole lives really revolved around the F/M area and that made it hard to receive support when they were 3.5 hours away.
Right as Armando and Sara decided Moorhead was where they wanted to land after the summer ended, Valentines Day 2022 came around. Armando was specifically told NOT to propose on a holiday, specifically Valentines Day... news flash, he didnt listen. He and Queenie got all dressed up to receive Sara that afternoon and lured her upstairs with talk of a Valentines Day surprise! In the privacy of their own home, Armando asked Sara to be his wife and she happily accepted (dont worry, shes not actually upset by being proposed to on Valentines Day!)
At the end of Summer 2022, Armando and Sara finally moved back to the F/M area, landing in South Moorhead. Sara was able to take a job in Rothsay, MN as the K-12 School Counselor where she has worked for two school years and will be in her third year with Rothsay when she gets married. Armando continued his schooling through MState and has worked in some awesome companies for the last two years. And of course, hes continuing to pursue his many interests such as WWE wrestling, Streaming on Twitch, and his newest hobby- 3D printing.
And really, thats it for Armando and Sara. Just two souls who found each other, got a dog together (kind of), and made a little family for themselves. As they all say, theyve gone through the ups and the downs, the good times and the bad times... and theyre ready to do it for Always & Forever!