We're taking the big plunge!

Come on...who hasn't heard the story already?! Before meeting in person, we knew of each other through Chicago DSA, a local socialist organization. One day, at a chapter meeting, Zach caught Mimi's eye while he was giving an announcement. After all, whom among us can resist a hottie in a flannel telling you to renew your dues? Mimi kept her crush-from-afar a secret for a bit, but then - as many 23-year-olds do - started cryptically tweeting about it, even sharing a poll about which pick-up line to use. Zach, who followed Mimi on Twitter, liked these tweets without knowing they were about him - and even voted in the poll! We spotted each others' profiles on OKCupid a few weeks later and both swiped right. Zach's first messages to Mimi went something like: "Hi Mimi! Nice to see a Twitter mutual on here" *5 minutes pass as Zach goes to check Mimi's Twitter page* "Oh, wow, am I your crush? What's the pick up line?" Three days later we had our first date at Lula Café. And as cliché as it is, we knew from our first minute together that this was it for us.

We went on a lot of dates, met each others' friends and families, and moved in together. Zach got a new job, Mimi got a new job, we went camping a lot, Mimi got a promotion, Zach got a promotion, we went hiking and camping some more, we moved again, Zach got another promotion (go Zach). Mimi went to grad school, Zach got very good at cooking and cleaning, and Mimi got another promotion (go Mimi). Updated to add: Zach got another job (go Zach again). And we went on a lot of walks!

Everyone thought we'd get engaged at the Grand Canyon during our 1-Day Rim to Rim adventure in May of 2022. Zach thought it was too risky, and he was right! We had enough on our plate with 17 hours of hiking. Zach got COVID on the plane ride home from Arizona, and then gave it to Mimi. On day 5 of our isolation, Zach proposed to Mimi and Mimi proposed back. Pro tip: if you're feeling sick, one great way to get some adrenaline pumping is to get engaged! After taking some pictures (with 3 outfit changes for Mimi) and calling our family and friends to tell them the news, we toasted with some NyQuil and passed out.