Written March 26, 2020

Ten years ago today (picture is not of the actual day of course but the era) I was sprinting from the Staten Island Ferry’s Bus Terminal to catch the 3 p.m. ferry back to Manhattan. I had my headphones in, listening to my iPod, when I heard yelling. Naturally I ignored it, knowing if I paused to see what the commotion was all about I might miss the ferry and would have to wait another 30 minutes for the next one.

The yelling got louder and out of the corner of my eye I noticed the yelling guy was getting closer to me and waving his arms around. I power walked faster.

Suddenly the guy was in front of me, yelling my name and waving his arms around with a big bunch of red roses. It took me a minute before realizing it was Todd. He was wearing a suit and holding a dozen roses and all I could ask him was, “What are you doing here?!?” After all, he never mentioned any aspirations for visiting the ferry terminal and I was pretty sure I hadn’t missed plans to meet.

I have no idea what he said, I can only remember asking him over and over why he was there. It wasn’t until he got down on one knee that I sort of got it and after I said yes to marrying him, I kept saying, “What are you doing here?!”

It turned out, it was never his plan to propose at the ferry terminal. After a series of twists and turns it still worked out. Now here we are a decade later, pivoting through a time with many twists and turns, which feels a bit more intense given where we live. We’ve grown into better versions of ourselves over the 10 years since that proposal and I have no doubt all of us will come out of this time better and stronger than before. And when we’re done social distancing (well after Easter), may we continue to slow down, to look around us, to take our earphones out and risk missing the 3 p.m. ferry. We’ll go back to being busy and running around but with a stronger appreciation for our health and our communities as we move forward by foot, car or the Staten Island Ferry.