If you ask Val ...

I was living in Boston for nearly 3 years, just me and Harriet, constantly wrestling with the idea of moving back home. I made wonderful friends there, but felt I should be closer to my family and friends here in IL. I finally made the work and personal arrangements to get home in September of 2022. The day I moved back, I met Nathan.

I remember thinking he was very handsome, funny, and had the best energy. I thought about him afterward, but never asked our mutual friends to set us up because I was too nervous. Months later, we were splitting the task of babysitting our sweet dog godchild, Lola, and happened to run into each other doing so.

We hung out all day that day, and I finally had his phone number through this dog-sitting coordination. I wasted no time and texted him the next day and asked if I could see him again. We set up a date for the following weekend.

Our first date felt like 30 minutes but was probably 12 hours long, and we just have not stopped hanging out since.

We knew it was forever and decided to move in together. He quickly became a cat dad to Harriet, and we welcomed home Stinky about a year later (I always want to make it clear that Nathan named him).

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