woo hoo!

It really starts with Katie, Mic's sister. Back in 2014, Katie's Market to Market relay team "Hippie Chicks" needed three more runners, and so she reached out to her sister-in-law Elena who was one of Joany's closest friends and a fellow running buddy, and then Elena got her then-girlfriend (now wife!) Ashleigh and Joany together, and the three of them signed up that night. 75 miles later, Joany was the biggest fan of Katie. Two weeks later, Ashleigh and Elena were having a gathering at their apartment, which Joany initially declined to join, but then once she found out Katie would be there, she hopped on her bike and headed over. This is where Joany met Mic, but he would remain to Joany just as "Katie's brother," and she was just some girl who thought his sister was the best. For the next three years, Katie's brother Mic and Joany, the girl who thought Katie was the best, ran in the same social circles, literally. They played on the same co-ed soccer team and in the same pick-up basketball group, and once in a while ran into each other at friends' birthday dinners and the best shows in town, but completely clueless to what was to come. Then in 2017, Joany participated in the Storytellers Project where Mic was in the audience. They agreed to grab dinner in a couple weeks to talk more about her story. Joany realized that the night they were planning to meet, July 12, was Mic's half-birthday, so she showed up with a bag full of half-eaten snacks, half-eaten candy and a birthday card cut in half. This is Joany. But he didn't blink an eye. They talked for over four hours and closed down the restaurant. Katie was still the best, but that night she became Mic's sister.

Mic proposed the morning of December 25, 2020. They were with Ben, Sam and Dempsey. Mic cried for about 5 minutes. Joany cried on and off for about 24 hours. But as it turns out, life had already begun. There was a mess in their kitchen because they were hosting Christmas brunch for family later that morning. There was a book of world flags under the tree for Mic. Ben and Sam had secretly made a game of Jeopardy for Joany on her online Jeopardy account. Dempsey was patiently waiting for the next person to give him scratches. It was a beautiful proposal, but the best Christmas.