We first met the summer of 2017 at the beginning of our medical training at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Jessica is proud, native Texan. Shiva moved from Mississippi and quickly fell in love with Dallas and Texas in general.

Our intern class was a close knit group that spent a lot of time together outside of the hospital. Shiva started to notice that there as something extremely heart warming and welcoming the group. He tracked the source to Jessica. He realized that he was attracted to her light, enthusiasm, and kindness. Eventually, he decided to ask her out at the wedding of one of their colleagues. Jessica was completely caught off guard with Shiva's invitation. She was very unsure about dating in residency especially a colleague in the same class. But Shiva had a plan. Earlier in the year, Jessica had asked for volunteer dog walkers to help out with Clyde when she was on call or on nights. A couple people volunteered, one of them being Shiva. He very smoothly offered to include Clyde on the date and go to a dog park which Jessica misinterpreted as a casual hangout rather than a real date.

Eventually Jessica realized Shiva's intention was more than just to spend time with Clyde. He actually wanted to be with her. She was very unsure about how to proceed. She voiced her concerns to Shiva who responded with compassion and patience. He had been thinking about this long before she had her realization, so he expressed his affection for her and gave her the grace to process her thoughts. His response made her feel safe and respected in a way that removed any hesitation she had left.

Ever since we have been each other ride-or-dies, confidants, listeners, co-workers, and best friends. Our foundation was built first on being friends and then each other's heart song. We are looking forward to travelling to all the national parks and building our life together on Texas hobby farm/ranch.

J&S

Wedding Day

Reception