2006, Thanksgiving Day. The Golden Bears were taking on the St John’s Eagles in the annual Turkey Bowl. Late in the fourth quarter, Andrew caught the game winning touchdown and delivered the ball to the cute blonde cheerleader, Katie. Katie was immediately swooned by Andrew and his good looks and athletic ability, as was Andrew to Katie. They began dating, grade school sweethearts, against all odds, they fell in love and decided to get married 17 years later….

Not exactly. We have been discussing and trying to figure out the exact moment that we met. Unfortunately, neither one of us has been able to pinpoint that moment in time. We both know for certain that we met when Katie was cheerleading for the St. Michael’s and OLSH Golden Bears, and Andrew was playing football for them. This friendship started when we were both in 7th grade. The two of us bonded over our terrible taste in music and love for summer festivals. We talked almost every day. The conversation was simple:

Andrew: Hey Katie wats up?

Katie: NM you?

Andrew: JC.

Katie: g2g peace out boy scout

Andrew: peace out girl scout

Some would say Andrew was a young Hemmingway. This conversation continued everyday all the way through high school. The terrible taste in music turned into concerts at Riverbend. The summer festivals turned into high school parties. The summer before Andrew left for college, he finally gathered enough courage to tell Katie his true feelings. Fortunately, for Andrew’s sake, Katie felt the same way. Over the course of 5 years, this friendship had blossomed into a relationship. Officially boyfriend and girlfriend, June 19th, 2011.

The two of us stayed together through college even though Katie went to Ohio University and Andrew went to Coastal Carolina University. We were able to visit each other once or twice during each school year, and took advantage of the summer breaks by spending all of our time together.

Once college was over, Andrew decided to move to Florida, while Katie stayed in Cincinnati. Since we were used to the long distance, we saw this as no challenge at all. Katie was able to come to Florida during the winter, while Andrew would come home for the summer. Eventually, Andrew and Katie both moved to Jacksonville. After a short stint in Jacksonville, they both moved back home to Cincinnati, where they currently reside with their dog, Cola.