As I crutched into the lab at UT post ACL surgery in October 2015 I did not know that the beautiful girl sitting in my chair would be my wife. She got up and kindly offered me the chair, which I took, because, well, I had one knee.

A few days later she and I crossed paths again as we hung out with a group for Halloween.
Instead of exchanging pleasant small talk as many people in the nascent stages of friendship do, I spent the better part of the night passionately disparaging New Mexico (which after tasting green chile, had no basis in reality) after learning that Lauren was originally from there. I apologized the next day though, and Lauren graciously accepted, opening the door to continuing our young, yet tumultuous, friendship.

Over the next few months I routinely bothered Lauren by asking to sit on the couch in her office because my "knee was tired", but really I was becoming more intrigued by Lauren--who was fun, witty, kind, and thoughtful--and wanted to know her better.

After a few months, she finally agreed to go out a date with me, and we never looked back! (I think mostly because of my boyish good looks ;) but actually mostly because Lauren somehow puts up with my antics!)

It was Fall 2014 at the University of Texas in Austin. Cole had recently had his (first) ACL surgery, and Lauren had recently moved from Los Alamos to Austin to start her PhD program. Lauren and Cole first met through mutual friends at UT, where Cole was an undergraduate research assistant in the lab across from Lauren's office. With close working proximity, Cole frequently used the excuse that his "knee was tired" to come sit on the couch in Lauren's office and chat. After spending a school year building a friendship, they both knew it was only a matter of time.