Summer 2019 in Chicago. Lindsay had moved from Washington DC to Chicago a couple months earlier for work, and Phil was filling his summer days between first and second year of medical school with a research project and golf. It all began when we both swiped right on the popular dating app Hinge. Lindsay made the first move, and Phil unknowingly made the luckiest and best snap decision of his life. Phil has packed up and left the golf course mid-round only once in his exceedingly mediocre career as an amateur golfer (no matter the weather or how poorly he is playing). We still don't know what came over Phil as he stood on the 4th tee box of Mount Prospect Golf Course. It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky, but he made the choice to rush off the golf course and drive downtown in rush hour traffic for an impromptu first date for pizza at Happy Camper. This choice proved to be life changing. As every relationship succeeds with open and honest communication, ours started off hot as Lindsay's first words to Phil were “You're not 5'11”. We bonded over our mutual love of travel, animals, and movies (though Phil would like everyone to know he does not support Lindsay's habit of reading movie plots on Wikipedia) in hole in the wall restaurants around Chicago. Lindsay picked up golf (quite easily) and Phil watched the entirety of Lindsay's favorite show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Then COVID hit and the world stopped. Dinner dates turned into long walks on the lakefront or 606 with Lindsay's dog Callie, and travel plans turned into future plans and an ever growing bucket list. Time flew by, and eventually so did we to visit Lindsay's family in Seattle and on the east coast, and to Paris, Italy, Portugal, and Cabo.

Well, the plot thickens, as they say. Fast forward through the COVID pandemic, adopting 2 cats, and Phil's residency match in Chicago to 11 days short of our 4 year anniversary. While visiting Lindsay's family for the Fourth of July in Rockport, Massachusetts, Phil planned to pop the question while they walked on a scenic albeit rocky path overlooking the Atlantic Ocean before a family dinner. Mother Nature, however, had other plans as the day started with dark clouds that turned into rain with no signs of stopping. Phil's seemingly foolproof plan was tossed out the window, and a back up plan was hatched. Instead of walking to dinner, Lindsay's Aunt Christie and Uncle Rich invited the couple to come to their house in the evening for pre-dinner wine and cheese. On the drive over, the rain continued and Phil nervously hoped for a lucky break. As they pulled up to the house, a ray of sunshine cut through the clouds and we were gifted a brief respite from the rain. We walked across the backyard hand in hand, and with ocean views in the background, Phil dropped to one knee and promptly forgot every word of the proposal speech he had meticulously crafted over the months leading up to the big moment. While neither of us can remember what Phil said to Lindsay, we both vividly remember Lindsay's response of “Obviously!”.

We cannot wait to celebrate with each and every one of you!