wedding road trip

Day 36: Dr. Jillian

There may be no one cooler in my world than my younger brother Greg. I’ve always admired his entrepreneurial spirit, easygoing demeanor, and extensive group of incredible friends. Thankfully, Greg and his wife Melissa are not selfish either, which means I’ve had the privilege of getting to know their friends on a personal level, making some of them my own over the years. Given that we’re six years apart in age, I find this especially amazing. Earlier in the trip, we met up with his friend and groomsman Adam in Seattle, so it only made sense to meet up with his wife’s friend and bridesmaid Jillian in Chicago.

I have a special attachment to Jillian for several reasons: she’s smart, she’s funny, she’s gorgeous, and she’s wise beyond her years. She also introduced me to one of my favorite websites, Paperback Swap. Every time I see Jillian at Gregamel-oriented events, we end up chatting non-stop. Meeting her in Chicago for brunch felt like a treat I’ve wanted for years: the chance to get to know her one on one.

We met at Orange, a trendy little brunch place in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago. Jillian brought along her live-in boyfriend Ilya, who is part Abercrombie model and part businessman. Okay, so he’s not really a model, but Jillian, girl, you’ve chosen wisely. We jumped into the good stuff right away when Jillian shared with us the story of how she met Ilya back in California. Jillian, who had recently moved to Chicago from Los Angeles, wasn’t so sure about the whole long distance thing, but she found that she couldn’t get Ilya out of her head. After several months of texting, Facebooking, emailing, weekending and talking, Ilya transferred his job to Chicago and they got a place together. At some point during the brunch they also let it slip that they were going ring shopping later in the afternoon, you know, “just to look.” Uh huh.

Communication is paramount to Jillian and Ilya’s relationship. Given that Jillian is going back to school to get her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy, their relationship is prime testing ground for everything she is going to learn along the way. To be honest, they are miles ahead of many couples, as both Jillian and Ilya are direct communicators who have no problem sharing their own wants and needs.

As for advice, Jillian is convinced that developing strong relationships with each other’s families is the key to success. While both of them live away from their California families, they intend to return to the Golden State when kids come into the picture. Both of them are ecstatic that their families are on board with their relationship, with Ilya commenting, “I think my family loves Jillian more than me.”

We all know how I feel about people expressing strong opinions about what Chris and I want to do with our lives, so I really hesitate as I say this, but… I will anyways…

Dr. Jillian- I think you have a good one here. I can’t wait to see how your relationship grows and changes. Something in my gut just says you’re on to something here…