*SERIES* “Love & A Photo”: Leah & Noah

Name:

Her: Leah

Him: Noah

Age:

Leah: 25

Noah: 27

Lifes’ Work:

Leah: Creating. (Art, photography, websites, graphics, etc.) Loving. Teaching. All three, all swirled together.

Noah: Enjoying the world around me, appreciating those who make it special and living compassionately.

What city do you live in:

Both: Portsmouth, NH

How long have you been together:

Leah: Just over 3 months. (Since early April 2009)

Noah: 3 months going on 3 years (in a good way).

How & where did you meet?

Leah: We met at work. (Did you know that 60% of relationships begin in the office?!) We were both with other people at the time, but admit now that we had small mutual crushes from the start. Our friendship grew over the following year and a half.  His relationship eventually ended and we got closer as a result of my effort to be there for him and our very obvious connection.  And the rest, as they say, is… the present. Haha.

Noah: We met when she joined the company I was working for in September of 2007.

What was your first impression?

Leah: I thought he was cute, but he didn’t look like Harry Potter. (Two of my coworkers had claimed that he did, before I met him. Haha.) He was shy/awkward but nice.

Noah: It was a little weird at first. She was the only other female my age at work and I’d say we had some healthy awkwardness between us. We became friends though and in the year or so leading up to us actually dating we became work BFFs and were very close. I found it very easy to talk to her and share myself with her. It was apparent she was someone I could trust and who truly cared about those around her.  Okay, so that’s more than a first impression — sorry.

Describe your first date.

Leah: I don’t know what we consider our first date! We were basically inseparable from them moment we decided to start dating (in fact, we’ve only ever spent 2 nights apart, and he moved in with me less than a month into our relationship).

Noah: Hah, there was nothing so formal as a first date, but the time I took her winter hiking, before we started dating comes to mind… I’m an outdoor nut and tend to forget that the things I love to do are difficult and require skills and equipment I’ve acquired over the years. So, I took her on this hike in the snow, ice and freezing cold under the guise of a photo-venture.  We get into it and it’s cold out… and I start thinking… hmm, it gets steeper, icier, and more treacherous.  As we walked I considered that the trail I thought was mild was probably anything but to someone not used to hiking in the winter.  “Leah, how are you doing? How are you feeling?”, is what I’d always ask her as the pitch of the trail increased, as we squeezed through a cave, or as we strapped crampons onto our feet to help scale the sheer ice.  I could tell that this was all more than she had expected, but the answer always came back as, “I’m doing well Noah, just cold.”  She was a trooper through and through and enjoyed the experience for what it was worth, despite nearly getting frostbite. I spent the later portions of the hike and the subsequent dinner trying to warm her frozen and slightly discolored fingers. The food took a really long time to come out and we sat at a quiet table in the back of the dark restaurant.  It was the first occasion where we really spent time alone together.  Surprisingly that wasn’t the last adventure she’s wanted to follow me on. We’ve shared a lot of new experiences with each other.

Tell me about the most funny thing your partner ever did to “impress” you.

Leah: He’d never admit to doing either of these things to impress me, but there are two things.  One, I mentioned (on Twitter!) that I wanted to try geocaching, and when I went over to his house a few hours later, he’d “coincidentally” just learned about geocaching “the night before” and wanted to try it out. Haha. The second – just before we started dating, he decided to go vegetarian “for a week” to see if he could do it. (He could! He’s been vegetarian ever since!)

Noah: Burping? She’s good — she has skills. I’ve still got her beat though. (More capacity, she is wee/little/adorable)

Leah: I can’t believe I”m letting him tell that to the internet.

When did you know it was love?

Leah: I actually realized I was undeniably in love with him several months before we started dating – around Christmas of 2008.  It was later for him, I think.  Nothing in particular really spawned this in me – it was just a sudden realization. We used to say “ILU” or even “i love you” in a friendly/joking way before we started dating, but the first time he told me that he loved me for real was just a couple of days after we made things “official”. We were laying on my couch and I told him a story about something painful from my past. He ran his fingers though my hair and said, “I love you, Leah Dawn.”

Noah: I’ve cared about her and loved her for much longer than we’ve actually dated, and I think the recognition of actually being “in love” was obscured by the complications of life, the complications of working together and maybe a little bit of denial.  However, 2 or 3 weeks before we started dating we had a geocaching adventure near my childhood home.  Neither of us had been geocaching before and we had a great time enjoying each others presence and laughing at the absurdity of our GPS ineptitude, while spelunking around in the woods.  It was around then that I knew I felt something special for her and by the following weekend I knew it was love.

Are you guys more of “perfect twins” or “opposite attracts”?

Leah: We’re more perfect twins, though we have a healthy amount of differences. Once, shortly after we started dating, we spent an evening trying to come up with issues we disagreed on, and couldn’t find any.  Sometimes, we’ll be somewhere together, and he’ll say something about the exact thing I was just thinking about. We have a definite connection. Our differences are really in the form of food. I hate baby corn, he likes it. I love chive cream cheese – he calls it “devil paste”. Etc.

Noah: We are a little of both.  We have so many of the same opinions, interests, values, and feelings towards things. However I think each of us has another half which is the opposite of the other. A sort of “evil twin” or opposite which keeps us on our toes and keeps things interesting. I’m always learning things from Leah and find her artistic and creative sides endlessly interesting.

Retell the coolest travel adventure that you have taken together?

Leah: It’s only been three months, so we haven’t traveled together much! We did go to Michigan to visit my family a couple of months back. We drove through the night with our bikes attached to the back of my little car. While we were there, we went into Ontario, to this little town called Leamington, to go on a bike ride. That was one of my favorite adventures ever.

Noah: We went to Michigan in May to see Leah’s family and friends. It really brought us closer together. The 14 hour straight through drive each way, meeting her family (living and deceased), seeing the countryside she came from, and taking her younger siblings on bike rides and to the zoo are all experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life.

How do you share your creativity/gifts with the world?

Leah: Through my blogs, leahcreates.com and thehistoryofhumandesire.com, primarily. I have also shown my art at a (now closed) gallery here in Portsmouth. I’m lucky enough to be able to do web and graphic design as a full-time profession, so I am nearly always creating! I’m hoping to open my own gallery in 2010.

Noah: Huh? I guess I like to teach people things. How to enjoy the things I love.  I taught people how to scuba dive for a short time and see myself retiring that way someday, but really I love sharing experiences of natural beauty and accomplishment with others. Whether it’s hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, scuba diving, travel or whatever it may be. Seeing, doing, and being a part of something special.

What was your first disagreement about?

Leah: We used to disagree about work stuff a lot, I think. He was my project manager before leaving the company we both worked for. He sometimes forgets that I know how to do my job better than he does. ::laughs:: But, we really only have minor disagreements, and we’re pretty good at talking them out. (He’s really passive aggressive, but he’s working on it.)

Noah: I don’t know — we really don’t have many.

What do you do after a ‘fight’?

Leah: Probably say “I’m sorry” a lot, because we both have guilt complexes! We haven’t had a major fight yet.

Noah: Discuss, make amends, and love.

Have you faced any adversity? If so, and you care to share- what…

Leah: Oh, plenty. Haha. The time around when we started dating was just an explosion of conflict and chaos. He left a 9-year relationship about a month before we started dating, and had to deal with what we’ve dubbed “the divorce” (he wasn’t married, but he and his ex own a house together). I left someone else (a guy I’d been dating for only a few months) because I knew I was supposed to be with Noah, and that was awful and heartbreaking and I felt so much guilt. A lot of people were really, really against our relationship and that was really difficult.  Then, we made the decision for him to move in with me about three weeks after we started dating, and a lot of people close to us had a big issue with that. And THEN, a few weeks after THAT, he lost his job.  It was a lot to deal with at one time, but I think we’re doing really well. We’re really good about being in touch with each other about how we’re feeling, and we’re both really committed to the other person’s happiness.

Noah: I lost my job in May and have been down and out about myself to varying degrees since then. I’ve been looking for work, but have had a hard time putting my finger on what it is I want to do and finding the confidence to go after it.  She’s there for me to help me talk through things and is a never ending source of support.

Leah recently took a huge chance and has quit her job to make a living for herself freelancing. Her previous job made her pretty miserable and now she’s doing things her way, on her terms.  I’m proud of what she’s doing and the chances she’s taking.

I don’t have a job and am not making any money (other than unemployment). She is working hard to develop client relationships, but doesn’t have the cash rolling in quite yet either. It’s scary, it’s stressful, and it’s wonderful.  I know we’ll get where we want to be.  We are each others biggest supporters.  We will do great things together.

Describe your love journey in 3 words.

Leah:  I’ll quote Robert Frost: “It goes on.”

Noah: honesty, warmth, openness

For the marrieds, how has life changed since you got hitched?

Leah: We’re not married, but we live together AND have a dog together AND share a checking account. That’s a lot for being 3 months in, hm?

Noah: N/A

Bonus Question: What is your favorite beverage?

Leah: Diet Mountain Dew. ::wince:: (I know diet soda is terrible for you… it’s a vice.)

Noah: Dr. Pepper

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