October 10th, 2015

I did the smartest thing I've ever done today. Even smarter than the previous smartest thing I'd done. 3,121 days ago I took the prettiest girl that I've ever seen out to dinner and today I married her, the girl of my dreams, the love of my life. Even though it started over 8.5 years ago it moved pretty fast so I'll try to back up and summarize. And in case you're wondering, yes her personality still sparkles just as beautifully as her eyes. More so now than ever before.

It is a rare gift to deeply love someone. It is a rare gift to even know someone incredible and inspiring. And it is a rare gift to share your life with someone who is fundamental to it's existence and how it has been shaped. Yet I hold all of these gifts and they came in the cutest little package: my wife. And I cherish her more than everything else.

What was life before her? Illusory at best. How did we get here? The details are many, but here they are in short.

After our first dinner together I moved to California for 6 months for an internship. I sent her flowers in Philadelphia almost as soon as I arrived. I could not for the life of me stop thinking about her. But I knew things on her side were slightly more complicated, what with her having some variant of a boyfriend already. Do I back away? Do I go all out? I'd spent maybe a total of seven hours in her presence at this point. Do I really want to try and split her up from whatever else is going on in her life?

I needed more data. I devised a ruse! While in California I visited many beautiful places on the weekends. I made sure to routinely post photos on Facebook to keep her attention. And then I sprung my plan! I told her that one of the random places I'd be visiting would be Denver. My true intent was to spend more time with her. Hopefully somehow not letting on that I liked her. Yes, I realize the absurdity of this plan and I don't quite remember the logic behind it. Fear not, it would not be the last of the weirdness in our dating. We did however have a wonderful dinner in Denver with a great walk to Tattered Cover and a beautiful bridge later that evening. I drove her home. I did not walk her to the door. I did not get out of the car. I think I may have given her a hug in the car. What was I thinking?! So in one sense my plan worked; She was more confused than ever. Remind me again how I ever thought this was a brilliant strategy?

I sent her flowers the following week.

A few months later we got back to school and started seeing each other more often. Every time we'd see each other I would plan the greatest dates ever. Everything from going to New York to see Cirque du Soleil to driving to Pittsburgh to see Falling Water and a little bit of everything in between. I even took her to see her first lighthouse and shooting stars. The dates were always fun, but felt like a cycle of first dates. And believe me, we had some great first dates, but they were too planned with no forward momentum. I had no idea what I was doing. I DIDN'T EVEN HOLD HER HAND WHILE WALKING DOWN THE BEACH WATCHING SHOOTING STARS!! Dating, the type that leads to real meaningful relationships, was not something I had much experience in. Alas, it all came to a stop. We stopped talking for a while.

The astute reader may recall that in my previous post I talked about how I persevered through multiple no's when asking Savannah to dinner the first time. There was a lesson there and it was time to apply it. Persevere! After a few months passed I convinced her to go to dinner with me. We went to Serendipity III in New York. It was, as they say, incredible. A watershed moment.

Things were different this time. We were comfortable around each other, had earnest conversation, brought up things that we'd missed about seeing each other. It was our first second date. And third date. And fourth date. All in one date.

After this, things took off like a rocket. We started living together within a month. We moved across the country together a year later. During that year I got to see my future wife graduate from college, we went to Disney World together, visited Seattle, and I started a goofy tradition of doing Valentine's Day puzzles.

Once we got to Seattle we made a new life for each other. We made new traditions, lived in many places, made new friends and even had old friends move out too. We traveled all over from local places like Portland, Vancouver and San Francisco all the way to Paris, London and Hawaii. I did a startup, which Savannah supported me through. I got very sick for a few years, which Savannah supported me through. Savannah changed careers, which I supported her through. And together we experienced much loss, which we supported each other through. I'm happy Gram and Pop got to know her though. They were her biggest fans. Pop was betting on her from day one.

We got engaged! We bought a house! We got married! And every step of it all felt so natural and gradual. It was meant to be, without any doubt. And now here we are celebrating our love and our life in front everyone who is important to us. But most importantly, we're celebrating it with each other.

Persevere.

3,121 days ago I said, "Pursue the desires of the heart, it's the only thing you'll be certain to never regret." It stands true. Today I married the love of my life and it was the smartest thing I've ever done.