Robin: “Todd and I met on the dating site, OK Cupid. Todd was the only man I met and dated in person. His profile stuck out as it was lengthy, authentic and thoughtfully written. His photos were interesting and beyond the popular ‘selfies’ or man-with-dog, man-holding-large-catch. I commented on one picture of him pushing a wheelbarrow full of garlic. I guess I made the first move! We spoke on the phone shortly after and I was taken by his beautiful voice. We met in person one week later over sushi and sake; I could not have asked for a nicer first date. The rest is history.”
Todd: “Truly, online dating was a funny medium: all you had to go on were a handful (or wheelbarrow full) of words and photos of the other’s choosing - but yet it was still so telling by their inclusions and omissions. Robin stood out with her confident and straight forward sincerity, and of course that beautiful smile!
She was all positivity, and spoke with love about her friends & family, healthy living, the Golden Rule, and having a greater purpose in life. These are the things that can take time to learn about a person, and yet here it all was up front. I was taken from the beginning!
We spent the subsequent days messaging non-stop, even while she was in NYC for her birthday, and as I half ignored my friends while on vacation in Naramata. When our eyes met for the first time in person just a week later our beaming smiles confirmed for each other that we were very clearly only just getting started.”
Robin: “Todd tells this story better than me. The night we got engaged, we had planned to pick up our favourite boneless chicken wings and have a picnic on our new beach. The builder so happened to ask for a site meeting to discuss the fencing. This was perfect timing in my mind. We arrived at the house and I started walking the property with the builder. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, Todd was laser focused on setting up our surprise engagement. I was quite annoyed as he seemed uninterested in the fence discussion and was nowhere to be seen. Why was he on the beach?!! About 30 min. went by and I yelled down to ask if he would walk through the house with me, which he declined asking me, yet again, down to the beach. Long story short…by the time I made it down there, we were both highly annoyed at each other for our separate reasons. Todd proposed moments later and my annoyance was gone that instant!”
Todd:
“Quiet beach at our new home, our favourite casual Covid take-out food, artisanal engagement ring - ‘what could go wrong,’ I thought! If nothing else, at least I had ample time to set up the beach chairs, wings, and champagne & chocolates by the water...
...and a bit of time to think about what I was going to say, too.
‘Robin, sometimes you drive me absolutely mental, and still I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?’
What I was going to say may have evolved slightly over the wait :-)
Sliding that ring onto her finger was the happiest moment of our shared life to date.”