A BRIEF HISTORY OF US
Long before we had a history of our own, a discreet antecedent existed. Within our family structures, an aunt and an uncle had married, connecting Enrique’s family—rooted between Mexico and Southern California—to Caleigh’s in Florida and Pennsylvania. At that time, this was merely a genealogical footnote: one of those minor entries in a family history whose significance only becomes apparent after several years.
Perhaps for this reason, our lives together have always seemed
to embody more history than mere chronology.
We approached each other from opposite coasts, each of us already immersed in pursuits that allowed little room for compromise. Caleigh’s journey led through the field of medicine toward neurosurgery; Enrique’s through racing and entrepreneurship. Before long, the boundaries between our respective domains grew increasingly transparent. Climbing became part of Enrique’s repertoire, and Caleigh learned the importance of a clutch and hitting the apex.
Neither of us has ever possessed an affinity for superficial interests.
Curiosity, for us, tends to become an occupation.
Together, we invariably favor deep inquiry: the challenges, the less obvious paths, and the buildings whose histories warrant understanding before crossing their thresholds. For us, a new place is rarely mere scenery. Between extended shifts, surgeries, and simulator setups, we have learned to arrive at airports minutes before departure, with passports soon stamped by locations that had been little more than ideas days prior. Together, we have adventured; we have explored cities and countries, ascended seldom-touched mountains, learned winemaking from vine tenders, visited coffee farms at their origin, and enjoyed some of their finest meals in places where the restaurant consists merely of the chef, a counter, and a few stools.
Thus, it was particularly noteworthy that, scarcely a day after Caleigh completed her medical boards, Enrique took her to one of San Diego’s historic landmarks, an institution dedicated to exploring the record of human experience. Eventually, we ascended the tower above the museum.
Travel has become a principal means through which we have
come to understand the world, and each other.
At the top of the tower above the
Museum of Us, with the accumulated history beneath us,
we were engaged to be married!
