Hi, we are Kris and Kendall, and it is our favorite month! Our story is our favorite story to tell.
We currently both work as PAs for the same Urgent Care company, but in different clinics. (Although Kendall is jumping to Rheumatology full-time in a few weeks).
In November 2019, my clinic’s patient volume was steadily increasing to the point of needing two PAs for every shift. Our company started offering for people to come pick up random extra shifts to help at my clinic. Well, Kendall was in the middle of an expensive kitchen remodel and stuck in a very unhappy marriage, so she was working as many extra shifts as possible to finish her kitchen and avoid being home. We had never met, spoken or even seen each other’s names as we were in different regions of our large UC organization. On 11/13/2019, I walked into work to find Kendall sitting at the desk.
She was so gorgeous that I forgot my name. The chemistry was mutual and immediate. In a bizarre turn of events, we saw hardly anybody the whole day; the patients just vanished. We talked all day…well Kendall talked AT me because I was speechless.
The shift ended, and we both drove home reeling. We both agonized over what to do next. Kendall had a husband. I was resigned to being a single mom forever after not much luck trying to find a woman who sincerely wanted to embrace my life. I had known I was gay since childhood, and suffered for it as a teenager in my Southern Baptist church. I had left my straight marriage in early 2017 once the burden of living a lie became unbearable. Kendall never got much opportunity to learn who she really is.
After our chance encounter, it would be 3 weeks before we spoke again because I never saw the “waving” emoji she had sent me. Feeling like an idiot for holding out on her for 3 weeks, I sent the same emoji back. We both knew that if something was to come of this, it was guaranteed to be complicated. Kendall left her marriage. She dealt with painful backlash from her family.. Our relationship grew rapidly, and we are proud of the life we have built together through all the pain and struggle. 
The kids and I proposed to Kendall in December 2020 with a scavenger hunt through our house. Kendall and the kids proposed to me in February of this year while hiking. We got married on May 8th, 2021. We were so grateful to have Kendall’s parents and my dad and grandparents and so many members of our chosen family at our backyard wedding.
My kids are our ride-or-dies. Leo is 12. Tobias is 10. Oscar is 6. They love their “Wendellz” (her nickname from them) fiercely, and she makes step-parenting look easy. We spend our family time camping, triathlon training, obsessively watching women’s soccer and cheering the kids on at gymnastics and soccer. We also run a tiny macaron bakery in our kitchen called Macaboobies to raise funds for my gender-affirming top surgery. 
Kendall hopes to be pregnant in the coming months because we want to have a basketball team with no subs.
Pride Month is fun with rainbows and unicorns all around. However, it started with a riot, a fight against injustice. Marriage equality has only been legal federally since 2015. Currently, 27 states have passed or are considering anti-Trans legislation. Let us celebrate the love we have fought for and will continue to fight for, not just in June but always. 
Kris (they/them) & Kendall (she/her)