Kristin and Theresa worked together for 8 years when suddenly there were small signs that Theresa was trying to get Kristin and her son, Dan, to meet. It soon became a secret joke in the therapy office. Alas, none of Theresa’s plots quite came to fruition until the day after school let out for the summer. Theresa, knowing she wouldn’t see Kristin for 3 months if things went south, called Kristin and asked outright if it was ok for her to give her son Kristin’s number. Kristin, thinking it would be rude to say no, agreed.

Elsewhere, Dan, blissfully minding his own business and unaware of the storm that was about to blow up upon him, suddenly felt himself pressured to call a young co-worker of his mom’s and ask her out. After brushing his mother off several times, he finally relented and said yes.

The first phone call was pleasant, if not a little awkward. Kristin, for the life of her, could not understand the town name Royersford (woyerfurd?) but despite the slightly fuzzy phone connection, they agreed to meet. With an hour between their houses, they decided on a spot almost exactly halfway- The Windmill in Morgantown. Despite a little awkwardness of a blind first date, dinner went so well that they decided to go for a walk at the nearby French Creek State Park. Although Kristin knows better than to go into the woods with a man she just met, she decided that if Dan tried anything unsavory, she would simply tattle on him to his mother. Luckily for all, Dan was the perfect gentleman. They walked around the lake chatting about everything under the sun. When they stumbled upon a creek, Dan, as the gentleman he was proving himself to be, carried Kristin across the creek so she need not worry about getting her feet wet. (Upon hearing this story later, Kristin’s friend Casey exclaimed “that’s husband material right there. So, points for being right, Casey.)

Kristin and Dan built up a wonderful friendship that slowly evolved into love (with a few pit stops along the way) until one September day, whilst on vacation with Kristin’s family in the mountains, Dan asked Kristin if she would like to bike 3 miles straight uphill on a winding gravel mountain road. In a moment of unfiltered optimism, Kristin, who absolutely was not in cycling shape, agreed. About halfway up the mountain, Kristin felt as though death might come at any moment, but she persevered, and eventually the two made it to the top. As they overlooked the Pine Creek Valley and admired how high they climbed, Dan, overcome with love, asked a Very Important Question. And of course, Kristin said yes. Dan had not been planning on proposing that day, but didn’t want to let such a moment go. It is one of the few proposals where both parties were surprised.