From Erin's perspective:

Joel and I first began getting to know each other when we met on Tinder in late 2017. I recall being at one of the many jobs I had during college and getting a message from Joel on this app asking me to go out on a date. Not thinking that I was that interested in Joel, I made an excuse, but continued to talk to Joel on and off for the next few weeks.

In late January 2018, Joel persuaded me to go on a first date with him. We met at a popular St. Paul burger restaurant Burger Moes. I remember being more nervous than I have ever felt for a date. Joel with his calm demeanor greeted me with a hug which calmed my nerves at least some. I remember this date going better than I expected, Joel was a very sweet guy, who I learned had lots of hobbies, and seemed to be someone I would want to see again.

We went on quite a few dates during our first months together, dinner, movies, and hikes at Lilydale park. I enjoyed spending time with Joel, there is a lot you can learn just from being around him, he's funny, and he always has been so caring.

Throughout the first months of our relationship, I was pretty guarded about being anything other than friendly with Joel. I will not get through writing this story about us if I don't reveal just how nervous I was to kiss Joel. I had just turned 22 when I met Joel, I had not had a ton of relationship experience, and Joel just made me nervous lol. I knew after a few dates, that I liked Joel and hoped that we would continue seeing one another, but despite Joel's attempts to kiss me a few times, it took until or 6 or 7th date for that to happen. Joel's words woud be something like "you ran away from me again" in a text after our dates.

Despite all this, Joel and I grew close fairly quickly. In April of 2018, Joel and I were together and he asked me "so should we make this official." I later learned he literally meant should we make this Facebook official, but I just knew he wanted to be my boyfriend. Naturally, I said yes!

From that point on, Joel and I have grown so much. We grew together as we met each other's family, spent time around friends, I even got to find out what drifting is and how to drive an RC rock crawler. And sometimes he lets me drive his 4 Runner on the off-roading trails!

Joel and I first began living together somewhat early in our relationship, I believe we had been dating for 6 months when he started living with me at my dad's house. This is where we first became pet parents. Stanley and Walter (Wally) came to live with us in June of 2018. They are cats from two different litters, but because of growing up together, they are as close as brothers. When I first told Joel about my idea of getting a cat he told me not to get a black cat....Stanley, my love is a black cat and Joel grew to love him very quickly. Both the cats are a fun part of our journey and we love them being in our lives.

We were at my dad's house until June of 2019, probably much longer than anyone would normally want to live with their girlfriend's parent, but it surprisingly worked for us (most of the time). Just before leaving my dad's house, Millie our Australian cattle dog mix (now 3 years old) joined our family. She was a timid scared little girl, but being a dog parent really brought out the best in Joel. I was in school, working a lot of hours, and doing an internship, so I had very little time on my hands. Joel on the other hand was not working due to his Electrician work sometimes becoming seasonal. He and Millie became attached at the hip, dog park days, walks, runs, and all the activities Millie could ever want as part of her day. Joel really worked hard with our girl and I credit him for her being mostly well behaved today.

Joel spent the first 2 years of our relationship supporting me on my journey to becoming a social worker. At times, I thought the stress of school, work, our relationship, and trying to take care of myself were too much. Joel never hesitated to support me, make me laugh, and find ways to help me get my mind off of things when I had a day off. I worked hard during those years when it came to managing everything I had going on, but I owe it to Joel for helping me keep my head up and supporting me all the way to the finish line.

During all of this, Joel has been hard at work trying to gain experience as an apprentice electrician. I always admire his diligence in his work despite having difficulty with the availability of jobs (especially over this past year with COVID).

In 2020, our journey through the global pandemic brought us out of the first townhouse we rented together and into our first home that we purchased together in August. We love it here and Joel has truly impressed me with his ability to fix ANYTHING!

Finally, we are at the present day, 2021. This year has been a continuation of the difficult one we have all experienced. I feel so lucky to have been with Joel through this locked down year. In late January, Joel and I decided to take the leap to go ring shopping after talking about getting married for a while now. On February 28th, Joel and I were on a trip to Breezy Point, MN where Joel's dad has their family cabin. Joel decided we were driving to Cayuna State Park. He told me "it's really cool cause it's kind of like a tiny mountain." As we climbed the tiny mountain at sunset, I somewhat knew what was happening, but it was still so special. Joel has always loved to explore new places in the outdoors and show me thing that are like tiny mountains (probably because its fun to drive his RCs on them ;). We made it to the top of this tiny mountain at sunset and we were looking out onto a frozen lake. It was a beautiful and peaceful sight. Joel turned to me with the ring we had picked out a few weeks before and he asked me to marry him. I have never felt so excited and happy for anything in my life. Joel has been my rock and I can't wait for this life with him.

"I love you because I know no other way" - Pablo Neruda's 17th Sonnet

From Joel's Perspective: I Matched with Erin on Tinder mid December 2018, We spent about a month talking before deciding to go on a date. Our first date was at Burger Moe's In Saint Paul, picked it because they have my favorite juicy lucy's. We went on several more dates over the next few months and our connection began to grow. We spent our time going on walks with her dad's two Shi Tzu and exploring saint paul's surroundings. I really started to feel understood by Erin as I was able to express myself without feeling judged or embarrassed.

Erin is one, if not the most caring individual I have had the pleasure of knowing. I really started to notice this with her work and the people she cared for. When we first started dating Erin was working at two different camps for people with special needs. She helped me see how intensive this type of care was, and that you really needed to be a strong person to play that role.

In June of 2018 I got a text from Erin saying she wanted to adopt a kitten. At first I tried talking her out of it, my childhood cat of 11 years had passed away the previous year and I was scared of getting too attached to another cat. Sooner then I could talk Erin out of it she sent me a picture of a tiny ball of fur with two big eyes and round little belly. As a seasoned cat owner I knew having a kitten was a lot of work but I also knew cats were great pets so I was up for the task. Erin came up with the name Stanley and I agreed. He was so cute and fun! just a little ball of joy.

About a month had passed by and we were spending a lot of time at Erins house enjoying our time with little Stanley when we got the great idea to look for a second kitten! Growing up we had two cats, Harold and Knut. Those two were best friends and kept each other busy. I knew having two male cats would be the easiest option so we kept that in mind while looking. After going to several humane society's we found our baby boy Wally. From the moment we visited with him at the Adoption agency we knew he was it! At first, it took some time for Wally and Stanley to get along but after less than a week they were best friends!

Having the cats has brought us so much joy over the last few years! We tend to personify our pets, maybe even a little too much but we love them so very much.

Our animals helped Erin and and as our love grew we talked about getting a dog. It was something I had wanted to do for some time!

eight months into our relationship I moved into Erin's Father's house. I was going through a financial hardship after being laid off for several months and started to fall behind. They took me in when I had nothing and helped me get back on my feet. I am forever grateful for them helping me when I needed it most.

While in Graduate school Erin worked

On April 7th, 2018 I asked Erin to be mine, knowing I had met such an amazing soul.

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