Meet Simon & Valerie from Western Massachusetts

Simon was born in Toronto, Canada and raised Tampa, Florida. He studied ballet and was a dance major at a performing arts high school in Florida. Simon went on to college in Amherst, Massachusetts and studied Japanese language, culture, and history. He majored in martial arts sociology. After college, he hitchhiked around Japan for a year. He then moved to New York and studied with several taekwondo pioneering grandmasters. He then became a father and opened his own martial arts school, which has been in operation for 15 years. Valerie was adopted as an infant. In her 20’s, she was diagnosed as autistic. Three years ago, she came close to passing away due to a rare and hard to diagnose medical issue. She now has a medical device implanted in her back that keeps her stomach functioning. She has made it her life’s goal to inspire others with the disability. She is currently on a mission to hike solo through the White Mountains in an attempt to complete all 48 high peaks. She said, “Being a solo disabled female hiker can be terrifying; especially when you’re pushing yourself to the limits. I want to inspire others to know that the goals they have, that may seem impossible, are attainable.” The couple met on Bumble, a dating app, a year and a half ago. Valerie said, “I saw his profile picture and immediately thought he was out of my league. I swiped him anyway. I got off the app to pretend like it didn’t exist. Not even 24 hours later we matched. He began messaging me about my profile. I quickly realized that he had made the effort and took the time to read it. We spent the next next three weeks talking. He never rushed me. I was hesitant. He was gentle. One day I was just like, ‘sure let’s do this’.” For their first date, they met at mountainside deli and then went for a hike. At one point during the hike, Simon asked Valerie if he could hug her. She obliged, and when he did, he felt that she was carrying a self-defense device. He said, “I was impressed and proud of her for taking the initiative to protect herself. She didn’t know who I was and we were meeting to go for a hike alone in the woods.” They continued on and hiked to the summit. At the summit, Simon began taking photos of Valerie so that she could have pictures of herself in the moment. Valerie said, “I run an Instagram, Instagram and a TikTok to help inspire disabled hikers. It meant a lot to me that he took the initiative to do that for me and document the moment.” They came to visit the Howe Caverns today with Simon’s children and one of his childhood best friends, David. He has known David since they were nine years old when they met in Boy Scouts. Valerie said, “My favorite thing about Simon is that he makes me feel safe and he always keeps me laughing.” Simon said, “My favorite thing about Valerie is her adventurous spirit.” The one thing they want to tell the world it is, “Love is not a finite resource. It is meant to be multiplied!” Thank you so much for visiting and for the very fun photos! They capture your vibrant personalities perfectly