Our story is a classic "Love at first sight" story. There was the instant connection. The butterflies in my stomach. And of course the “Oh dang. She's my friend's little sister - what do I do here?" That’s how that story typically goes, right? Theresa and I met on July 3rd of 2019 on Broadway in downtown Nashville when she was visiting my friends and her family, Bill and Sarah.

A polite introduction led to a few hours of awkward second-guessing about how I should go up and have a conversation with this amazing person. Good news: Theresa broke the ice! A true woman of conviction, she’d had enough of my shenanigans and approached me. Once we got to talking, we didn’t stop even when she had to fly back home to Philadelphia.

Talking led to texting, texting to phone calls, phone calls to FaceTime, and eventually dating long distance. We were committed to seeing each other every month, alternating trips from Philadelphia and Nashville. In March of 2020, the pandemic struck and threatened our ability to see each other indefinitely. Rather than succumb to the situation we were faced with, love found a way. Theresa courageously packed a bag for Nashville and moved in to be with me (and our dog Rally who I strategically adopted two days earlier). The rest, as they say, is history…