We went shopping for each other on Bumble. From our first date at Puritan Coffee in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on a rainy Monday night in February, Sam remembers Derrick's soft sweater and orange raincoat, that he ordered a London Fog latte, and that he talked for kind of a long time about vectors. Derrick remembers Sam's butt as she stood in line in front of him.

Anyway, you know, one thing led to another, Covid happened, Sam moved in with Derrick after four months, her books got immediate water damage, Derrick built out a van from scratch, Covid was still happening, Sam went to France, Derrick published some math papers, we left Arkansas forever to live in the van, did some cool stuff out West, moved in with Ty in Colorado, did some more cool stuff out West, bought a house, learned to ski, Derrick ran 50 miles, Sam hiked 700, Cheesecake chased 5,000 balls.

It hasn't all been fun and games, of course. For instance, Sam gets all weird every time she tries to use a power tool, even when she asks if she can help with just the sorts of projects that require power tools. Derrick thinks The Princess Bride is “just ok,” and has never seen Clueless.

The most important thing is that we bring out the best in each other, and that we expand each other's horizons simply by being endlessly supportive and excited enough about things to want to carry the other person along, whether through poetry, ice climbing, cooking tofu, practicing healthy tooth-brushing habits, or being comfortable in a shared silence and the contented presence of the Other. We're constantly discovering and learning together, and we can't wait to grow together through all our future adventures and our future challenges. Next stop: married filing jointly.