STEPHANIE & JAN
Brooklyn, NY
Stephanie, 39, doula/midwife
Jan, 40s, relationship and coming out coach
Before they became a couple, Stephanie and Jan made beautiful music together in the Stonewall Chorale, which is how they first met. And that initial spark remains; they can´t say enough wonderful things about each other. Jan loves Stephanie´s "smiling eyes," "nurturing spirit," and "qualities that can´t easily be written: the way she carries herself in the world, the sound of her voice, a look or a glance." Stephanie appreciates how Jan is caring, how she helps her relax and how she listens. "We are sensitive to each other´s needs and put each other first," Jan says. They also complement one another perfectly. "Stephanie is more of a physical risk taker and I´m more of a psychological risk taker. She´s the mature, grounded one who reels me in when I am unrealistic. I´m the dreamer who gets her to envision all of the endless possibilities." Their biggest challenge, so far, has been their different backgrounds. Stephanie is German and Jan is American. "We don´t have much of a common culture to share, but we get around this by delighting in each other´s differences," says Jan. They struggle with the work-life balance, too, like so many of us. "We both work from home a lot and needed to create boundaries when it´s ´business time´ and when it´s ´shut-down-the-laptop time." Though not married yet, they have talked about it. Most importantly, they want to keep a good thing going. "We envision our relationship growing even deeper over time."
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