Celebrate with us!

Online dating can be the most unusual and treacherous experience for any human to go through. When Rachel and Matt were reaching the end of their "online dating subscription" and their fed-up-ness with the online dating world, Matt began to expand his search outside of Michigan and found Rachel's profile. After Rachel didn't respond to Matt's first online message, he did the rare move of messaging her again - he felt compelled to try again, even if it was a shot in the dark. From Rachel's point of view, she saw Matt's first message but didn't respond, rolling her eyes at the thought of a long-distance relationship. Matt's second message, however, was thoughtful and kind, so she took a chance and wrote back. After exchanging messages a few times, Matt and Rachel agreed to connect for a zoom chat. They chatted comfortably for over an hour, and continued well into the second hour as time seemed to stand still. Though it was still very new, Matt thought getting to know Rachel on a deeper level would be worthwhile. As their first zoom chat was coming to the end, Matt took a chance to ask for lunch despite the seven-hour drive. His plan was to take a small trip on Labor Day weekend, the first trip since the COVID lock-down began. Matt was nervous - even though it was only their first zoom chat together, he wanted to meet in person and see if what was happening on zoom would continue in person. Rachel couldn't believe anyone would want to drive seven hours just for lunch with her, but was also curious to meet in person. Two weeks later, Matt drove to Rochester, taking the LONG way around the lakes. They agreed to meet at Aladdin's for lunch. Matt showed up at Aladdin's on Monroe Ave but Rachel wasn't there. She had no idea there were multiple Aladdin's in Rochester, and instead was at the Erie Canal location. After finally connecting at the same restaurant location, the lunch progressed into a long walk on the Erie Canal with Cocoa, which then continued with an evening chat under the stars by the fireplace. Before Matt drove back to Detroit the next morning, they met up again at Steve's Original Diner. Afterwards, they went for another walk together then sat on a bench chatting. Matt scooted closer to Rachel, then closer again, then put his arm around Rachel's shoulder. Just then, rain drops started before quickly becoming a downpour. Matt gave Rachel a hug and kiss before running to their cars. Rachel turned around for a quick glance, only to see Matt smiling back at her. Over the coming weeks and months, Rachel and Matt's relationship grew over texts, phone calls, zoom chats, and visits together. Their second in-person visit was when Matt flew to visit Rachel where they spent the weekend sight-seeing and checking out all the cool things in Rochester. Thanks to his remote job, he was able to visit Rochester nearly every month. At first it was only weekend trips, but soon increased to long weekends then week-long visits. Rachel also visited Detroit a few times, too. Each time they were together, it became abundantly clear how much they enjoyed spending time together with any variety of adventures - concerts, high-speed go-kart racing, movies, comedy shows, long walks and hikes, museums ... anything and everything they do together is much better because of the other.

Matt realized he met a rare and wonderful person that he enjoyed spending time with. Similarly, Rachel realized she met a one-of-a-kind person that she enjoyed spending time with - but she didn't want to live in two separate cities forever. Rachel and Matt had planned a summer camping adventure together in Letchworth State Park. Unbeknownst to each other, Matt had planned to propose somewhere along the hike, and Rachel was planning to ask Matt to move to Rochester. Matt was carrying the engagement ring with him the entirety of the hike - from Lower Falls to Upper Falls and back. He anticipated proposing at Upper Falls, but it just wasn't the right time. Instead, he waited until sunset, after dinner at camp, by the fire. It was the perfect moment. Rachel was just gathering her courage to ask Matt whether he'd consider relocating to Rochester, when Matt asked Rachel "can I talk with you about something?" Through his nerves, Matt shared the kindest and most thoughtful expressions to Rachel about how much their relationship meant, then pulled out the engagement ring. Rachel was truly speechless. She got up to give Matt a hug, but Matt pulled away, asking - does that mean it's a yes? Of course it was a yes! In less than two months' time, Matt sold his townhouse and moved to Rochester. As of December 19th, he's officially a New Yorker with his NY license plates and NY drivers license. Rachel and Matt continue to discover new adventures in life together each day, and enjoying everything thing, big and small, along the way.