It all started when I finally flew the coop and moved out of my parents' house. I landed a job at Hayward, and during my first interview, my eyes locked on a cute, dark-haired girl in the lab. She seemed shy, and I was instantly smitten. But there was a catch – I had a strict "no dating at work" policy.

Of course, fate had other plans. We ended up working closely together. She was responsible for testing the features I coded, and, well, let's just say she had a knack for finding bugs. (Hey, it comes with the territory in software development!) Even though romance wasn't in the cards at that point, we had some great conversations, bonding over our shared love of video games. A couple of times, I tried to break the ice and invited her out with friends, but she never showed.

Fast forward to February 2020. I accepted a new job, and with my departure looming, I was determined to finally ask her out. But it seemed like the universe was conspiring against me. I heard through the grapevine that someone had sent her flowers at work. Not wanting to interfere, I ended up leaving without even saying goodbye.

Then, out of the blue, I received a text with a screenshot of my online dating profile. "Is this you, or is it a catfish?" it read. I knew immediately that whoever sent it knew me, but I had absolutely no clue who they were. We started chatting, and in June 2021, I invited them to join me and some friends for a day of paddleboarding. The entire time, I was racking my brain, trying to figure out who I was talking to. Finally, they showed up... and it was her! All those missed connections, and here she was.

We had an amazing day on the water, followed by dinner and even more conversation. There was just one problem: I was living in Massachusetts, and she was in Rhode Island. But when a co-worker needed a cat sitter, I saw an opportunity. I told her about it, and suddenly, I was making the hour-long commute to Rhode Island almost every night.

One evening, we went to see "The Hitman's Bodyguard's Wife," and I spent the entire movie trying to work up the courage to kiss her. When I finally did, she seemed genuinely shocked. Later, she confessed that it was her first kiss.

Eventually, we started talking about moving in together. I helped her find a job closer to me, and before long, she was moving in. Of course, in true comedic fashion, we both came down with COVID the day after she arrived. (I still blame her family!) We spent our first two weeks together sick, miserable, and with a nearly empty fridge. Not exactly the romantic start we had envisioned!

But things got better. The following February, I took her to see the ice castles in New Hampshire. As we were walking, she pulled me aside, acting incredibly nervous. My first thought was, "Is she going to propose? It's too soon!" Then I saw the sparkle of a bracelet in her hand. "Pinky promise," the card read, "I promise to wear this and to remember how lucky I am to have you."

We were settling into our life together, but she often talked about how much she missed her childhood dog. A few days before my birthday, I decided to surprise her. We went to pick out a puppy, and Sudo became the newest member of our family. We thought we were so clever, naming him "Sudo" after the Linux command. Little did we know his superuser permissions extended far beyond the computer! He's been a source of both chaos and joy (sometimes in equal measure), but most importantly, he's brought us even closer

When it came time to propose, I had no grand plan, just the ring. It was April 1st, 2024. We had just returned from a trip and needed to pick up Sudo from daycare. "Want to come with me?" I asked. She said yes, but took forever to get ready. Impatient, I went to get Sudo myself. When I got back, I let him outside and asked her again if she wanted to come with me to "pick him up." She practically sprinted to the car, completely missing Sudo at the back door! "Where are you going?" I asked, letting Sudo into the garage. "April Fools!"

Later that day, I took her to dinner in Manchester, then to a local park. As we were walking back, we passed a statue of Ralph Baer, the "father of modern video games," with a plaque that read, "Follow your gut and instincts, because you won't be happy if you don't." Using the oldest trick in the book, I pretended to tie my shoe (it wasn't untied) and got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?" I asked. She said yes!

But then I panicked. It was April Fools' Day, and the whole thing might have seemed like a cruel joke. So, the next morning, I "stole" her ring before she could put it on and asked her to marry me again, just to be sure.

T&H

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Rehearsal Dinner