Will you marry me?

Most couples do this kind of thing over a fancy meal or on a romantic vacation or where they first met or something like that, but we’re in the middle of a pandemic, and Jen and I have never been like most couples.

Truth be told, though, this actually is where we first met. While we had certainly bumped into each other several times before, the first time we ever directly interacted with each other was after we both had answered this question on this forum back in July of 2016. I had been on the volunteer moderator team here for a couple years, and Jen is … well … Jen (I guarantee you’ll recognize her if you’ve read more than 5-10 posts in this community), and the only reason I could think of that she wasn’t also on the team yet is that she didn’t want to be on it, so before I went to recommend her again, I DMed her on the Twitter listed on her Treehouse profile to make sure that would be something she’d like. We ended up talking for an hour that night.

A couple nights later, we talked a couple hours more. Twitter DMs quickly grew into a friendship from the other side of the world, which lead to frequent video calls, which turned into an online relationship 4 years ago today.

So much has changed in those 4 years, and we’ve stuck together through it all. We both helped each other escape abusive situations, we both pushed each other to start our careers, and we’ve worked together to build a home and a life together. Jag har lärt mig ett helt nytt språk för att prata med henne. She’s moved across an ocean to be here with me, and our relationship is significantly less online. Nowadays we’re thriving, together.

Jen, waking up next to you each morning feels natural, and nowadays it’s essential you’re with me if I’m going to fall asleep. I’ve loved you for years now, and I need you like I need my right arm. We’ve been sheltering-in-place together for about 8 months now, and I still can’t wait to see you when I get home each time I go to the grocery store. I always wanna be with you, and I never wanna be without you. So, Jennifer Nordell, will you marry me? 💍