It was a warm Sunday afternoon in March of 2020, and the city of Columbus had just shut down because of Covid. Businesses shuttered, restaurants closed, and people suspicious of every cough. The city was on edge. A global pandemic was upon us, with no end in sight. So naturally, what better time to go on a first date? We met at Schiller Park near Sara's house for a walk, with mutual assurances of a socially distanced single lap around the park. Remy brought his dog Pepper (Sara's dog, Camille, was in Celina at the time), and no one should be surprised that Sara's first word to Remy (in person) was "Pepper!" We both knew, pretty much immediately, that taking the chance to meet up was a life changer. Remy's stupid jokes kept Sara laughing, and Sara lying about Remy's identity to her Mom made sure no one was the wiser. This turned into the first of thousands of laps that Sara and Remy have taken around Schiller Park. We always say that dating during Covid was like dog years for a relationship. A couple years of "Covid-dating" equates to 9-10 years of "normal" dating. From that first, socially distanced Schiller Park lap, to a romantic weekend laying river rocks the week after, to cooking a Thanksgiving meal in May just because "why don't we eat this food more than once a year," life has only gotten better over time. PS - thanks Hinge!

One of the first things that we bonded over was our mutual love of skiing and snowboarding, so Remy knew he wanted to do it out west on the slopes. Planning this without tipping off Sara was a challenge. There were secretive calls with "work mentees" to set up the day with the photographer. Then, there was the restaurant reservation debacle. As the world knows, Sara will do anything to eat pasta. One of the songs we listen to when making pasta is Mambo Italiano (naturally), and there happened to be a great Italian pasta place in Steamboat called Mambo Italiano. So, 4 months in advance, Remy booked reservations every night they were there, just in case. All was going according to plan. Then, the first morning they're there, Sara looks up at Remy, and says "you won't believe this - there's a MAMBO ITALIANO here, and I just made us reservations!" After faking happiness and masking his panic, Remy had to find a way to get out of this reservation. So that day, on the last ski run of the day, he let Sara go ahead of him, and then faked a fall and started writhing in pain. He sold it all the way down the mountain and convinced Sara they needed to cancel the reservation and order pizza in that night. Crisis averted. That cleared the way for the big day. We had a pass to get on the mountain early that day, and we had an incredible morning on the slopes. At 11am, it was time. The photographer was in position. We both wish we remembered exactly what Remy said, but unfortunately, we immediately blacked out when he got down on his knee to pop the question. We will assume it was a well-worded, romantic expression of Remy's love for Sara. We spent the rest of the day on the mountain and could not have asked for a better day. We were doing what we love, with the person we love. It simply doesn't get better than that.