“I posted an ad on Craigslist for a housemate and found my soul mate instead!”

…so the saying goes.  Ok, it’s not really a saying, but everybody has heard of a craigslist love connection (of some sort) and this is one of them.  And no, it did not start in the Casual Encounters section.

When I first met Tracey, she came to my house looking for a room to rent. I knew right away that she was awesome. That wonderful smile, that infectious laugh, the way “so how much are utilities?” rolled blissfully off her tongue as if such petty details weren’t that important. She was radiant.

The next day, she brings over her two best friends to scope out the place.  They give Tracey the thumbs up, and it is a done deal.

After 6months or so of basically ordinary everyday life, it became obvious to both of us (secretly at first) that there was a magnetic force trying to pull us together.  All of a sudden, WHAM! We are stuck together and been that way ever since.  Two peas in a pod.

Our relationship continued to grow, flourish, and we continually sought out new adventures.  We were in our mid-20’s and not ready to settle down and get careers yet.  We went to Burning Man together and actually came back closer than ever in spite of being covered in playa dust for 5 days straight.

“Tracey, how do I look in these purple stretch pants?” Pause. Silence. “Tracey?”

We always seemed to get along. We were able to have good conversations and be silly. Sharing in each others company was then and is today the greatest pleasure of all.

One day she told me “I want to learn how to surf!” We got her a board and from the first time she stood up, she was stoked. Now we’ve shared countless surf sessions, all of them being very special. No two waves are exactly the same.

We started going on surf trips down the coast.  We surfed Rincon, C-Street, and Swamis. Pointbreak or bust.

Eventually we went to Costa Rica and surfed for 3 months.  We found a sweet little place called Pavones.  It was easy to spend all day in the water which was 82 degrees.

At some point along the way I knew for sure I had found my soul mate.  Everyday I feel truly lucky — the luckiest.  And she also puts up with me! Thanks craigslist and the universe, I owe ya one!

Well, sunscreen is expensive in Costa Rica so we eventually had to come home and get real jobs.  And there is no place like home.  After eight years of being with such a wonderfully outstanding girl, I finally popped the question. Took me long enough right? I finally found the right moment. Luckily she said, YES (which is why you are reading this).

If I have learned one thing in the last eight years with Tracey, it is that the one only indestructible thing in life is love.

(During the eight years we have known each other, we have both gotten our BA degrees from the University of California Santa Cruz. Ben received his BA in Philosophy but quickly found his life path in horticulture and is now a Nursery Manager and Arborist at Our City Forest, a non-profit organization with a mission to plant 1 million trees in San Jose!  My BA is in Community Studies with an emphasis on food, agriculture, and social justice (interning at an Elementary School’s Life Lab Science Garden).  Previously, I had obtained my A.S. degree in Early Childhood Education from Cabrillo College.  Now I am a preschool teacher at UCSC and creating garden curriculum everyday!)

Stay tuned for “The Proposal!”