Lydia

We're geeks and we freely admit it being so. We met in a bookstore, rather appropriate for two bibliophiles such as ourselves. Yet rather than our eyes meeting through a gap in bookshelves, or reaching for the same volume and our hands touching, we worked together. Our relationship was first one of co-workers, then friends as we organized a group to play cards and board games during shared days off. It turns out that the other two members of the game group were bound and determined that we become a couple. In fact, we later discovered that the sudden change in our schedules, which just so happened to see the two of us working at the registers together, was not a coincidence. Rather, the "mom" of the store had decided to help out the matchmakers by throwing us in the other's path as often as possible. The plotting worked and we soon began to date, taking our first trip together to DC for Shamrock Fest, a two day long Irish rock concert in Washington, DC. One week after the concert Lydia moved to Japan to teach English to elementary school students. Determined that the distance and 13-hour time difference not impede their relationship, we developed our Skype skills. Steven began most of his mornings by waking up at 5:30 am so that he could talk with Lydia before her day ended. On August 1, 2010 during a trip home Steven proposed to Lydia over a dish of ice cream as the sun was setting.