Sarah and I met the day we moved into the same residences as freshmen, in August 2010. Somehow, Sarah ended up roomed with someone I knew from home, so we all ended up at the same party that night. My roommate and I hit it off with Sarah directly. The next day, she and a friend wandered into our dorm hall and found their way to our room. From that moment, we started making nightly plans, hanging out between classes, and spending nearly all our time together.
Neither of us recognized as gay at the time. I had never considered dating a girl. A few months in, Sarah told us she thought she liked girls. At first, it didn’t phase me. Even after we kissed on a few wild nights out, I didn’t think much of it. I did start feeling jealous of Sarah’s other love interests, but I drew it up to wanting what was best for a friend. By the end of starter year, I was dating a guy from our dorm, and Sarah had a girlfriend.
Contempt this, our kissing streak constant, even though we weren’t officially together. Eventually, it slowed. Both of us were in rocky places with our partners at the start of senior year. One night, after being out, we ended up under the same blanket on the couch, cuddling. To anyone watching, it might have looked like more than friendship. That night, we went up to my room, talked for hours, kissed, laughed, and knew something had changed. In the following days, after texting and thinking about it, we broke up with our important others and began seeing each other.
We officially started dating in March 2014, though it began in October 2013. After graduating from SUNY Cortland in May 2014, Sarah moved to Long Island and I returned to Staten Island. We did long-distance for over a year, seeing each other mostly on weekends. In the summer of 2015, we moved in together in our first apartment on the Upper East Side of New York City. Two years later, in 2017, we got engaged at Tavern on the Green in Central Park. Sarah proposed first, and I immediately proposed back it was a dream come true for both of us.
We lived in NYC for about a year and a half before buying our first home in Rockland County in 2019. Shortly after moving in, we had our dream wedding at the Barn at Perona Farms in New Jersey. We had planned to start trying for children later, using reciprocal IVF, but COVID changed our timeline.
Our potency journey began when we realized our trip to Greece was canceled. The first appointment at the fertility clinic revealed I had a quiet ovary, producing fewer eggs. Despite this, we stayed positive. After genetic testing, we selected a sperm donor, which came with some initial concerns from our doctor, but we moved forward. My egg retrieval in November 2020 yielded 15 eggs, seven fertilized, and four embryos went for genetic testing. Only one came back healthy. Sarah’s retrieval in December produced 23 eggs, 13 fertilized, and four embryos sent for testing. Three of her kids were genetically normal.
Our first beginning transfer in January 2021 didn’t take, which was heartbreaking. After learning I needed extra progesterone, we tried again on April 23, 2021. I felt different this time, pulling sensations, frequent urination and we held onto hope. On April 30th, the bloodwork confirmed it: I was pregnant. The emotions were indescribable. I managed to surprise Sarah with the news, and our joy was unmatchable.
This journey has been full of ups and downs, long-distance moves, heartbreaks, and victories, but every moment has strengthened our love. We have built a live full of love, care and support together.
