If you ask Ed he'll say he knew the minute we met back in 2019 that we were supposed to be together, I on the other hand remember things slightly differently...

Sure, we met back in 2019 when we were both working for Allen Marine Tours here in Juneau but I never thought of Ed as anything other then a friendly guy I'd randomly see around work sometimes. We remained friends throughout the years, reaching out to one another fairly often and getting together every once in awhile for a beer. It was all very casual...until it wasn't.

Fast forward a few years, I was now living in Seward, AK and Ed was working on a tug boat that would sometimes come into Seward for a few days at a time. Ed being the kind, sweet, and social human he is, of course reached out to me to see if I wanted to grab a drink one night while he was in town. Me being the anxious, standoffish, and antisocial human I am did not want to go. But I still accepted the invite because I also never really learned how to say no.

I am so unbelievably happy I ended up saying yes that night! Who knew it would change both our lives in all the best ways.

We had a great evening catching up over dinner and drinks, like old friends no time had passed at all for us. I enjoyed our evening together so much that I shocked even myself when I immediately invited Ed over for dinner the next night. We ended up having a never ending dinner at my house the following night and talked about everything under the Alaskan midnight sun. Our dinner lasted well over 6 hours and I remember feeling a tinge of sadness and confusion when Ed finally left for the night, I truly didn't want the evening to end. Clearly I had big feelings for Ed because I yet again found myself extending an invite out to him for the third night in a row.

Three nights in a row?! I don't even know who I am anymore.

That third night was magical and the most date like non-date I have ever had in my life. I've also never been so annoyed at not getting a goodnight kiss at the end of a night before. That goodbye is the exact moment I knew we weren't just friends anymore.

From that night on it was constant communication between us. I had feelings and they were the big scary ones and they were very clearly being reciprocated by Ed.

Ed used to work on a tug boat that would go days without service which at times was extremely hard for us. I knew I was falling in love with him when I would find myself constantly counting and figuring out in my head when he would make it to the next port and roughly when I would hear from him again. If I didn't hear from Ed in that timeframe the panic and worry would set in, followed shortly by annoyance.

Technically at this time Ed was living in Florida, I was still in Alaska and we were talking nonstop. We would see each other somewhat often when Ed's boat would come into Seward but our first real date came a little later and lasted four really amazing days. I knew after that weekend in Anchorage together getting to know each other further that Edward was without a doubt the one. Since then it's been a whirlwind romance for us and I can confidently say neither of us would have it any other way.

Turns out the whole "when you know, you know" thing is pretty dang true!

Looking back on all of it now, it's all just so obvious. We were always drawn to each other, seeking one another out at get togethers or stopping to talk at work for far longer than either of us ever had time for. Ed sometimes kicks himself for not seizing the opportunity to ask me out back in 2019, thinking we missed out on years together but I don't know if I necessarily agree. We potentially missed out on time together but I'm also a strong believer in timing being everything and it just wasn't right back then. I think it's as simple as that.

Luckily for us though the universe (and Ed's persistence) brought us back together at exactly the right time.