We met in late 2021 while we were both living in the D.C. area. At the time, Vicki was working in a post baccalaureate position at the National Institutes of Health, and Mitchell was beginning his first year at Data Trust in Washington, DC. In 2022, Vicki began her doctoral studies in Experimental Pathology at the University of Virginia, and we officially became “long distance”, which mostly means Mitchell has become very familiar with the Amtrak route between D.C. and Charlottesville. Now, four years later , and with one of us having Gold Tier Amtrak Guest Rewards status to show for it, we’re finally ready to leave the distance behind and begin the next chapter of our lives together, side by side, forever.