Our Story

We met online, as you do nowadays, in July of 2019. Who messaged first? Well, it was Brendan who first charmed Kate with a podcast suggestion of 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 both of us 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, Kate was a couple days away from getting bariatric surgery. And, at the time she was on a liquid diet, carrying a protein shake with her. So, when they sat down for a meal at a burger joint by North Station, Kate drank a smoothie, and Brendan had a double decker burger with bacon. It was rather hilarious now that we think about it.

After the date, we hugged on the train tracks, and a few days later after Kate’s surgery, while Brendan was checking up on her, we decided to just stay friends while Kate recovered.

Now, if this was another story, that would be the end, we would just fade away and move on. But, that is not our story. When Brendan told Kate that “friends is good” he meant it and did not let her 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, both of us 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, the world melted away. When we sat back up, Kate looked at Brendan and knew she could not deny her feelings. She 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 was the beginning of our adventures 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 Kate’s 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 Kate to Massachusetts, where Brendan’s apartment has been affectionately called her “vacation home.”

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 going to see 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 Kate 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 Kate back to that moment in 2020 when the world fell away. But, then, they brought out an old photo album from the 1800s, it had a beautiful gilded heart on it. When Kate opened to the first photo she noticed there were not images of actual Victorians, but instead there was a photoshopped image of Brendan and her that she had made for our anniversary last year. As, she flipped through the album more, again it was not filled with historical images, but instead it was filled of photos of each of us through the years together and before, with sweet notations about our love and our travels. The last page took Kate’s breath away, a flat ring box sat in a recess with a heart underneath with our initials. Kate affectionately called Brendan a dork as she opened the ring box to see a gorgeous old mine cut diamond ring and a note “Can I be your’s forever?” And, of course, she said yes!!

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

.… in this life and the next.