From the outside, we never should have met with COVID rampant and the country practically locked down. She was in her last 2 years of medical school training in the South Bronx, and he was working for the Mayor's Office of New York City while living in Queens. The intervening factor was online dating. We connected online with a rose sent on the app on January 11, 2021 and spent hours and days and months getting to know each other before deciding to take our dating offline. The first time we med in person it was in what would become one of our favorite neighborhoods, Astoria, Queens. We bonded over Disney and comics while sharing baklava and cheese cake outside of Martha's Country Bakery. For hours we talked and laughed and penguin walked across the snow and ice.

By the time medical school was finished, we were living together - Bronx to Brooklyn with frequent vacations to Disney and day trips driving north of the city for apple picking and farmer's markets whenever we could. Then medical school was coming to a close and the possibility of a large move for residency loomed. Together we filled out applications and worked through interviews before moving from NYC to Louisiana.

With Shelvia's family, he got the full southern experience. Crawfish boils and daiquiris and family dinners until Match Day 2022 pointed us in the direction of Ocala, Florida. Our unlimited support and love for each other helped us transition from the big city of New York, the southern heat of Louisiana to the orange groves of Florida.

Then the big day happened. August 12, 2023 Tanveer asked Shelvia if he could be Mister Dr. Gross, and with some laughs over his preferred title, Shelvia said yes. The engagement happened at the Morocco Pavilion in Epcot - our absolute favorite place to me... maybe not in the heat of the summer. We practically melted that day.