In late January 2023, I finally decided to give the dating app Hinge another go. Though I was resistant at first, I saw how it connected my sister and her wonderful now-husband and decided that if it worked for them, it was worth a shot for me too. Less than a week later, I matched with a cute, curly-haired special education teacher named Jake. His profile said he liked to nerd out on the Bible, Mary Oliver, and Fat Bear Week, so I knew the conversations would be good from the start. Our first date was at Dogwood Coffee in Northeast Minneapolis on a Sunday afternoon, and the entire place was packed. There were no open tables, but the ping-pong room was free, so we tried our skills while we talked about everything from cats to church to siblings to Taylor Swift. There was not an awkward moment to be had and the conversation flowed so smoothly that by the end, neither of us could wait to set up the next one. We saw each other four times within the first ten days because we just wanted to keep spending time together! At the end of our second date — a lovely evening at the Minneapolis Institute of Art — we were making plans for when to see each other next, and I said, “I’m free Tuesday, but that's Valentine’s Day, and I don’t want to rush anything if that’s too serious!” Jake immediately responded “Let’s do it!” and proceeded to plan the entire date himself. He got tickets to a swing dance soirée and picked me up in the rain with a bouquet of red roses. Dressed to the nines and giddy with excitement, I had to keep reminding myself I wasn’t watching a movie — this was actually happening! By the end of that night, we both decided we were all in and have been basically inseparable ever since. Over the last year and a half, our love has taken us to Oregon to visit friends, northern Minnesota to visit family, Wisconsin for a wedding, and Indianapolis for the solar eclipse. We’ve spent countless hours cooking and have both become pretty confident in the kitchen, shown each other our favorite books/movies/shows, gone to a number of concerts together, and created the foundation for our future together.

Jake's perspective: It was summer 2022. I was lying on my couch when I suddenly swiped upon a woman with the most dazzling blue eyes and striking red hair I had ever seen. I was drawn to the way she described her faith and her desire “to take things slow.” With fear and trepidation, I responded to one of her prompts, and then … nothing. (Jenny has no memory of that part 😂) Fast forward to February 2023: I re-created a Hinge account and within a couple weeks, Jenny was back on and has liked one of MY prompts 😊 I sent her a response and within 48 hours and 52 minutes, we were already making plans to meet. The night before our first date, I remember nervously pacing alone down Lafond Avenue. Like everything else in our relationship, our first date started with cinematic timing. We arrived at the same time. She was literally breathtaking. Jenny ordered raspberry hibiscus tea. Over a game of ping pong, we connected over shared opinions on Taylor Swift, not wanting to be famous, and the Pacific Northwest. Four days later I took Jenny out to dinner at Quang. She wore a maroon jacket and boots that clicked every time she took a step. After dinner, we drove to the Minnesota Institute of Arts (MIA). On the way, I remember feeling worn out from work and nervous that I was going to find a way to mess this up. Up on the third floor of MIA, we looked together out at the Minneapolis skyline and our reflections in the window in front of us. At that point, I held her hand and knew I wanted to spend all my time and learn all I could about the woman with the maroon jacket and the clicking boots. On Valentine's Day (five days later) I showed up at her door in the pouring rain with an umbrella and a dozen roses. We went to the Wabasha Street Caves. While we swing danced I was completely charmed by her navy dress and how patient she was when I stepped on her toes. As I was driving Jenny home, I’ll never forget listening to her sing along to the opening line of First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes, “This is the first day of my life Swear I was born right in the doorway I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed”