To get a sense of the real city of love (Detroit), we interviewed a few of our team members about the special love in their lives and how Detroit played a significant role.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It Was Just The Right Time –<\/span> Alicia L., HR Coordinator<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”4629″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”540″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”960″}}]]<\/p>\n \u201cEverything with us has always been about timing,\u201d said Alicia L.<\/p>\n Alicia and Wesley went to high school together, but never crossed paths. A Michigan football game\u2014a game Alicia almost didn\u2019t go to\u2014brought them together nine years ago, and the two dated long distance throughout college for three years. After graduation, Alicia felt like things weren\u2019t working, so they broke up.<\/p>\n The following spring, Wesley sent Alicia flowers on her birthday as a surprise<\/p>\n \u201cI just really wanted you to smile on your birthday,\u201d he told her. The flowers came with a short poem, starting a long tradition of Wesley sending Alicia hand-written notes.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something about a handwritten note that makes the message all the more special,\u201d Alicia said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re with someone so much, it\u2019s not every day that you stop to tell them, \u2018hey, I appreciate your hard work, I love you so much.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The two didn\u2019t get back together right away, and at that point, they were living on opposite sides of the world. But time had a way of running its course, and when Wesley came home from France, things started to align again.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the time was right,\u201d Alicia said, \u201cthe universe brought us back together.\u201d<\/p>\n The metro-Detroit natives never planned on getting married in Detroit, but the city had become the place where they explored Eastern Market, had dinner dates or went to Tigers games.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was fun to explore a city I had known for a long time and also experience it new with him. And getting married there just seemed like the perfect way to tie it all together.\u201d<\/p>\n A city of so many milestones for the couple, Detroit was the natural choice for their wedding. The couple wrote their own vows, and for their first wedding anniversary, Wesley hand wrote the vows again in black ink on cream paper and framed them along with Alicia\u2019s favorite wedding photo. It\u2019s a gift she\u2019ll always treasure.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just have this bond. It just freaking works,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I think for us, it was just fate.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Opposites Do Attract – Aaron D., Jewelry Services Manager<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”4631″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”540″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”960″}}]]<\/strong><\/p>\n Aaron D. was a bundle of nerves when he spotted John at a birthday party on Bethune Street in Detroit nearly four years ago. Aaron, an artist, wasn\u2019t really in the mood to mingle with the math teacher his friends wanted him to meet.<\/p>\n \u201cI had just gone through a really bad breakup, but I was like, \u2018sure, I’ll meet this math nerd who is a high school teacher and see how it goes,\u2019\u201d joked Aaron.<\/p>\n To his surprise, the conversation went better than expected.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the way he got me was he took out his astrology book and read it to me, and he danced with me on the first night. I thought, \u2018OK, this is a nice guy,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The pair ignited their love story with Detroit as their backdrop, going on their first date to Baker\u2019s Keyboard Lounge on Livernois.<\/p>\n \u201cI called ahead and got a table . . . but they told me men had to wear suits that night,\u201d Aaron said. \u201cSo we went suit shopping and I got an ill-fitted suit, but whatever, it was a really special night with lots of whiskey and fried chicken.\u201d<\/p>\n With a flourishing relationship, it was Aaron’s love for John that made him gravitate back to Detroit after graduating from Cranbrook Academy of Art and working in Berlin. It\u2019s a testament to the age-old saying, \u201copposites attract\u201d and Aaron notes it\u2019s that balance that keeps them going strong.<\/p>\n “The way he approaches life, it\u2019s the exact opposite of mine. He\u2019s very planned, very measured, he has a schedule every day. I like to do stuff on the fly,\u201d Aaron said. \u201cI\u2019ve grown a lot, I\u2019ve learned how to slow down, pause, not be emotionally responsive to everything in my life.”<\/p>\n But with growth, there are always growing pains\u2014and it happened to be the challenging times that, Aaron said, really made them realize they wanted to spend their lives together.<\/p>\n \u201cI think love means unconditional love and hate for the same person and still wanting to be around them,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s your best friend, you can\u2019t see your life without that person every day, there\u2019s that seamless connection.\u201d<\/p>\n With that in mind, Aaron got to work on John\u2019s engagement ring. There are bands of yellow gold, white gold and silver bonded together with the engraving, \u201clet\u2019s imagine\u201d inside.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen John was teaching in Detroit, he would say, \u2018hey, kids, let\u2019s imagine . . . \u2019 So every conversation we would have, it would come up. It became our relationship mantra, it\u2019s something very personal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Aaron and John are planning to get married in the summer of 2020 at the Masonic Temple.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a historical capstone of Detroit, it\u2019s wild,\u201d said Aaron.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n High School Sweethearts – Cora A., HR Administrative Assistant<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”4630″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”540″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”960″}}]]<\/strong><\/p>\n Cora A. met Quintin the summer after eighth grade on Detroit\u2019s east side. You could say it was love at first sight the minute she saw Quintin bust a move at her best friend\u2019s house on Hull Street. The other guys didn\u2019t stand a chance.<\/p>\n From hanging out at the Michigan State Fair to enjoying burgers at BB\u2019s Diner on 7 Mile, the pair grew up together exploring the city.<\/p>\n “When I was growing up in Detroit, we used to have block parties. I loved the community aspect and everyone coming together\u2014riding our bikes, splashing in the SwimMobile, running after the ice cream truck,\u201d said Cora. \u201cI also loved the history. Detroit is all I know.\u201d<\/p>\n After graduation and through the years that followed, there were some obstacles, but time had a way of bringing them back together for the long haul.<\/p>\n \u201cObstacles are important in love because then you know it’s real. Regardless of all of that, our love was strong enough to keep us together,\u201d she said. \u201cThrough trial and tribulation, we see each other as the people we loved that first day. When you have that friendship, there\u2019s still love there. God and love keep us together.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Mother\u2019s Bond Knows No Distance – Grace C., Leather Artisan<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”4632″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”540″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”960″}}]]<\/strong><\/p>\n Grace C. started her journey from the Congo to the United States three years ago. She left behind the beautiful tropical weather and the local food. And although she misses Casava\u2014spinach leaves stuffed with vegetables, peanut butter and a load of spices\u2014she misses her mother, Elisabeth, most.<\/p>\n \u201cShe means everything. She taught me how to be a woman and that there’s no problem I cannot handle. She tells me to just believe in God, nothing is impossible to you and don\u2019t forget how blessed you are,\u201d said Grace.<\/p>\n After spending some time in Nashville, Tennessee, Grace put some roots down in Detroit\u2014and started at Shinola.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I came, I was\u2014in my mind\u2014a little bit lost. I used to travel before, but when you just put your suitcase down to start a new life, you\u2019re like, \u2018where am I?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n But then something caught her eye: the graffiti, the murals, the details of the city that made it unique.<\/p>\n \u201cI liked the graffiti, it\u2019s just amazing. I like it in Detroit, I like the message you can have from the design and style. It gives some hope\u2014that mix of color, murals, you just have hope,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Hope for a better future\u2014and a hope to stay connected to her mother more than 7,000 miles away.<\/p>\n \u201cI talk to her every day I can, even when I\u2019m busy,\u201d Grace said. \u201cWe talk about family and all of the issues we can have sometimes. She gives me advice about life. When love is there, it cannot be stopped by distance.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Love Beyond Borders – Cecilia A., Leather Manufacturing Supervisor<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”4633″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”540″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”960″}}]]<\/strong><\/p>\n For five years, Cecilia A. has dealt with being separated from her husband. He was deported to Mexico in 2012 and it\u2019s been a fight ever since to get him back to the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s hard, but the communication I feel has grown a lot more, the way we express our feelings is a lot deeper. I really don\u2019t like it, it\u2019s not ideal, but we are fighting through this and remind each other that we\u2019re getting stronger through the separation,\u201d said Cecilia.<\/p>\n Cecilia and her daughter live in Detroit and do yearly trips to visit Pedro, who is currently going through the governmental process to return. In the meantime, when they aren\u2019t together in person, the family keeps the line of communication open.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s text messages, good morning texts. Every day we just try to send good vibes to each other. Every Sunday, me and my daughter wake up and call him, play hide and seek through Skype. It\u2019s our routine, every Sunday we get together as a family,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Through it all, Cecilia said she\u2019s thankful to be in the city that she credits for her entire family.<\/p>\n \u201cActually, the whole story happened in Detroit, this is where most of my timeline with him happened, this is where I met him,\u201d Cecilia said.<\/p>\n Their first kiss was shared in Kemeny Park in southwest Detroit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went to the park in the evening and he asked, \u2018do you want to be my girlfriend?\u2019 I thought he was just joking. We used to go back and forth, it used to not seem serious and that day, I got sick of him asking and just gave in,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To get a sense of the real city of love (Detroit), we interviewed a few of our team members about the special love in their lives and how Detroit played a significant role. It Was Just The Right Time – Alicia L., HR Coordinator [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”4629″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”540″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”960″}}]] \u201cEverything with us has always been about timing,\u201d said Alicia […]<\/p>\n