I first met Gabrielle in the airy springtime of 2006 in our final year of Brooklawn Middle School. She was wearing Roman-laced sandals, jean shorts, and a solid white top with ruffled sleeves. She was introduced to me in a trio of girls near the west wing staircase. The young ladies all said a cordial hello and I, being of prepubescent age, of course, just stared back in awkward silence.

Fast forward to the high school years, we would have classes together and hang out after school. I would follow her around in-between classes even when mine were on the other side of the building. We would embark on New Jersey's most challenging 3-mile hikes that our feeble-bodied peers could not handle. She would cheer me on whilst I drop-kicked Earl into the heating vents in the middle of class. There would be middle-of-the-night walks around the lake and tea time at Jiancy’s house. Ah, it was truly a time to be alive.

The college years would come and go. I would visit Gabrielle at F.I.T. in the city and she would come home during the summers. She would talk me into going back to school to finish my degree which never did me any good professionally but was important for character development. After college was over, I went to Colorado for 4 months and she was one of the only people I remained in contact with during my extended wilderness sabbatical. I remember sneaking up the mountains for a smidgen of service just to chat for a few minutes.

I eventually found myself lost and alone both physically and spiritually in the urban wilds of the Pacific Northwest. After persistent persuasion, Gabrielle was the second person to visit me after I left New Jersey. The moment she stepped out of the airport I felt the relief of company that can only be offered from a longstanding companion. Having spent time apart growing and maturing into adults, over the course of the following days we began to see each other in a different light. I’d always seen Gabrielle as beautiful and amazing but there was a palpable shift in the air between us- something that would cause us to spend hours on the phone every day thereafter until we could see each other again.

We eventually planned a second visit, this time set with the intention to see if we could make a romantic relationship work from different sides of the continent. It would be on this second trip, driving down the sprawling California coastline, dotted with orange poppies, that there would be no doubt in my mind, that soulmates do exist. For the first time in my life, there were no more ‘ifs’ just when and how. Gabrielle would move to Portland shortly after and it would be as if we were together all along.

Living together, I was filled with the feeling that we were already married in our hearts but it was still a nerve-racking proposal to become officially engaged. We adopted an ‘un-adoptable’ dog and little did we know that she would just be the start of our growing family. Before our originally planned wedding, we were blessed with Alia Selene, our beautiful baby girl. At seven months old she is already proving to be the perfect blend of both her parents who couldn't possibly love her anymore.