Our Story

We met online, as you do nowadays, in July of 2019. Who messaged first? Well, it was Brendan who first charmed me with a podcast suggestion—Sawbones, a show about medical history. After chatting for a week, we decided to meet in Boston at the Museum of Science, specifically to see the Bodies exhibit. Now, was this the best idea for a first date? Probably not. Were we both a little put off by the “artistic” and not scientific nature of the exhibit? You bet we were. But after leaving Bodies and venturing to see the butterflies, something special began to bloom.

Something we should add is that during our first date, I was just a couple of days away from getting bariatric surgery. At the time, I was on a liquid diet and carrying a protein shake with me. So, when we sat down for a meal at a burger joint by North Station, I drank a smoothie, and Brendan had a double-decker burger with bacon. It’s rather hilarious now that we think about it.

After the date, we hugged on the train tracks, and a few days later, after my surgery, while Brendan was checking up on me, we decided to just stay friends while I recovered. Now, if this were another story, that would have been the end. We would have faded away and moved on. But this is not our story. When Brendan told me that “friends is good,” he meant it and didn’t let me forget him. Months passed, and we kept talking, learning little things about each other, truly becoming friends.

In February of 2020, we decided to go to the Harvard Natural History Museum together. We would be museum friends. We spent the entire day at the museum, looking at their geological, taxidermy, and glass flower exhibits. It was nice to take the stress out of a “date” and just hang out together as friends. But, of course, we both felt something. So, on February 29, 2020, we met again at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. In the red “Art of Europe” gallery, we sat down to enjoy the scenery, and Brendan started sharing photos from his trip to Egypt the previous year. We sat there for what felt like hours, bent together, flipping through his adventures as the world melted away. When we sat back up, I looked at Brendan and knew I could not deny my feelings. I asked if he would like to try dating again, and, of course, Brendan said yes.

But, it was 2020, and shortly after we started dating, the world shut down. We texted every day, and one day, Brendan suggested we have a Skype date. We both dressed up, made a “fancy” dinner, and hopped on the computer. This began a weekly tradition for the next few months. We would go online, watch a movie together, chat, laugh, and more. For us, this was the perfect way to begin our relationship; we got to know each other so much more. And, in August, we said “I love you.”

So began the adventures of our lives together. For the next four years, we enjoyed antiquing, thrifting, mini golfing, fondue, museums, gaming, herkimer diamond mining, and so many other experiences.

The most important, of course, was Brendan meeting my cat, Graeae (the one-eyed grey puff ball). Since then, he has embraced his duties as the “spare human,” a.k.a. “daddy cat.” Graeae even travels with me to Massachusetts, where Brendan’s apartment has affectionately been called her “vacation home.”

One memorable moment during our time together was when we played mini golf. As we stood on the green, laughing at each other’s less-than-perfect swings, a dragonfly fluttered by us. It was a quiet reminder of the strength of Brendan’s bond with his grandfather, whose memory he carries with him—just like that dragonfly, which always seems to appear at the most meaningful moments, guiding us in ways we never expect.

On February 29, 2024, exactly four years from the day we started dating (our 1-year/4-year anniversary), we went to Boston. After a day of seeing fish (and jellyfish, a.k.a. squishies, our pet name for each other) at the aquarium and having tea in the Boston Public Library tearoom, Brendan brought me to the Special Collections Department at the library.

Brendan had worked with them on a surprise collection of books for us to look through, and the last two were the most special. First, there was a travel album of Luxor & Karnak in Egypt from the Tupper Scrapbook Collection, which immediately brought me back to that moment in 2020 when the world fell away. But then, they brought out an old photo album from the 1800s, with a beautiful gilded heart on it. When I opened to the first photo, I noticed there were not images of actual Victorians, but instead a photoshopped image of Brendan and me that I had made for our anniversary last year. As I flipped through the album, it wasn’t filled with historical images, but instead with photos of us through the years—together and before—with sweet notations about our love and our travels. The last page took my breath away. A flat ring box sat in a recess with a heart underneath, with our initials. I affectionately called Brendan a dork as I opened the ring box to see a gorgeous old mine-cut diamond ring and a note that read, “Can I be yours forever?” And, of course, I said yes!!

As we look back on the moments we’ve shared, we can’t help but think of the bumblebee, a symbol of perseverance and joy. Despite their small size, bumblebees remind us of the beauty that comes from working together, finding strength in unity, and always pushing forward—even when things seem impossible. Like the bumblebee, our love has flourished because we’ve embraced the journey together, supporting and lifting each other up along the way. We’re two individuals, but together, we are something even stronger and more beautiful than we could have imagined on our own.

But that is only the beginning of our story. Our love will continue…

… in this life and the next.