On the day we met, Lawrence rode into the Pacific Beach Fourth of July party on a Harley V-Rod wearing skin-tight red spandex (see our pictures for reference) and an Uncle Sam jacket and top hat, and Elissa…didn’t notice or remember. It was only once the party died down and Lawrence brought over a glass of milk to go with the cupcake she was eating that he popped up on her radar. Since then Elissa has been similarly unimpressed by Lawrence’s shenanigans and Lawrence has been striving to hold her attention with good food.
We connected that night over plans to meet on Black’s beach and go surfing. And since then we have been partners enjoying every free second on the beach, on the water, in the mountains or with family enjoying good food. While Elissa was in med school we would run away for weekends of surfing and lobster in Baja. While Elissa was doing medical research in Chile, Lawrence convinced his business school to let him study for a semester in Santiago so that we could tour Patagonia on a motorcycle for a month between salsa lessons and runs up Cerro San Cristobal. Each of us was fully pursuing our own path but just loved being together.
Finally, we came together in Colorado when Elissa matched to her top-choice pediatric residency in the city where Lawrence’s job is based. Between Lawrence’s travel and Elissa’s 28-hour shifts we still make the most of every second, creating our “beach home” in Aurora between bike rides, hikes and climbs.
But writing this, it really hits home that our story isn’t about the highlights we can pull together. It’s about how happy we are when we’re together. It’s about trusting each other’s values, that we want what is best for each other, and that we look back and realize that we were being supported even when we couldn’t see it.
Our story is that we are happy living every bit of life together.