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... or so we've been told. We were three, so we're going to have to take our moms' words for it. Both our moms were in labor at the Boulder Community Hospital, preparing to deliver Janie & Josh. A mutual friend of the moms' made the connection that they were both in the same hospital on the same day and took the opportunity to introduce the families. And thus, the Schwartz-Ritter ("Schitter") connection was made. Legend has it that the day we first met our younger siblings was the same day we first met our future spouse. The Schitters remained strong growing up as Janie & Josh maintained their friendship. While the two of us weren't friends per se, our paths continued to cross at family events. In 2006, the Ritters spent a year living in Florence, and the Schwartz family flew to Italy to spend spring break with them. The families kept making us spend 1:1 time together, which is exactly what every awkward 14 year old wants- to be put into forced-bonding situations alone with members of the opposite sex. The pinnacle of awkward bonding came one night when the families made us go for a walk just the two of us. While strolling through the Santa Croce plaza, we were mugged, which resulted in us holding hands for the first time (granted, it was while we were running for our lives, but who's counting?). Fast forward to 2014- Megan moved back to Boulder after 6 years away, and Matt returned after spending time working abroad. Another coincidence took place and we learned that we were living only one block away from each other near Pearl St. Out of familial obligation, Megan reached out to Matt to see if he wanted to get together- inviting him to Trivia Night at the Beer Garden. She was surprised when he accepted. Preparing for another awkward encounter, she came armed with a group of friends and he also brought a buddy as back up. Turns out, the friends were unnecessary. The timing was finally right, and the spark that was 20 years in the making was finally there.

The entire trip to Italy was planned. We'd fly to Florence, with Megan believing we were meeting Matt's parents at the tail end of a conference. Little did she know, the conference was a ruse. On night one, Matt would propose to her at the Santa Croce- the very place we first held hands 14 years before. The next morning, she would be surprised by her parents, & our families would spend the next ten days in post-engagement bliss exploring wedding venues in the Tuscan countryside. And then the pandemic hit. Flights were canceled. Over the next months, Plans B, C, & D all fell through. Thankfully, Plan E was perfect. In August 2020, after quarantining & negative covid tests, we drove from Austin to Boulder to finally see our families. Being back in the Colorado sunshine with our parents and siblings was beyond refreshing. The morning of Aug 26 began with a long hike with our dads & Josh. The plan was to have a dinner at the Schwartz's that night. Josh had texted Janie & the two of us a few days prior asking if we wanted to stop by the Ritter's house for a drink and a stroll down Pearl St just us four before dinner. When Megan & Janie arrived, Matt & Josh were already outside for our walk. We took the long way towards Pearl, knowing that we'd pass by the townhouse Megan lived in when we started dating. As we passed her old place, Megan started gushing about all the memories that happened there- our first date, our first kiss, our first time saying I love you. Matt stopped at the steps by Megan's old front door, looked up at the house, & asked Megan which was her old bedroom window. She pointed it out, & when she looked back at Matt, he was on one knee. And there, on the exact spot we had our first kiss six years before, Matt asked Megan to be his wife. We had a celebratory drink with Jane & Josh before driving to the Schwartz's, where Megan was surprised to discover what she thought was a normal dinner was actually an engagement party with the whole family.