Our Story
Most of you know how we met, and many of you witnessed it firsthand. But just in case you never got all the facts, here is The Story of Emily and Mike!
How We Got Together
Emily and Mike met at Ithaca College in the spring of 2002, and immediately got "good vibes" from one another. Mike liked Emily's artwork and the crazy patchwork pants she was always wearing. Emily thought Mike had beautiful eyes, and she loved his fun, down-to-earth personality. However, Mike was dating someone else at the time, and the school year was nearly over, so we were just friends at first. We exchanged e-mail addresses and went our separate ways for the summer.
Over the summer, Mike decided to e-mail Emily, and she was surprised at how excited and happy she was to hear from him. The wheels started turning in her head as she replied. We agreed to hang out when school started back up in the fall.
We each returned to Ithaca, and Mike's September birthday quickly approached. The guys he lived with were planning a little party, and Mike really wanted Emily to come. So, instead of just asking her himself, he enlisted his main man Steve Drusano to invite her instead. Of course Emily was psyched to attend, and created the oddly-named "Rubber Band Super Wars" mix CD as a birthday present. Her impeccable taste in music obviously won Mike's affection, because we quickly started hanging out all the time.
Soon after the birthday party, Mike revealed his feelings while on an evening drive. Emily told him she felt the same way, and just like that, we were dating. We went back to Emily's dorm room, kissed for the first time, and soon after became embarrassingly enamored of one another. We would like to take this opportunity to apologize to our friends for all of the lovey-dovey ridiculousness that ensued. :o)
So What Happened Next?!
The bliss was somewhat short-lived, as we knew a separation was in our future. Mike planned to join the crew of the tallship the Picton Castle as a sail trainee on one of its world voyages, and Emily was scheduled to spend the next fall studying in Washington, D.C. We figured it was just one of those things that would either make or break the relationship, so we sadly said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.
Over the next 10 months, we wrote many letters and spoke on the phone whenever Mike was in port. Emily sent care packages filled with coloring books and mix CDs. As Mike's return to the U.S. approached, we were excited but apprehensive--what if we had changed too much? Could we really just pick up the relationship where we left off the previous year?
Obviously, things worked out! The time apart actually ended up being great--Emily loved living in D.C. and Mike came home with a sweet new beard. Mike had been a year ahead of Emily in school, but now we could graduate at the same time. We found a nice little apartment on State Street in Ithaca, spent many long hours in the studio, and graduated from Ithaca College in May 2005.
Recent Developments
After graduating from college, Emily and Mike decided to stay in Ithaca for one more year to save some money and to give Emily time to apply to graduate school. In August 2005, we officially became a family when we brought home our pride and joy--Moxie RockStar, 7 pounds of pomeranian puppy awesomeness!
The following summer we moved to Philadelphia, and Emily started grad school at the University of the Arts. Mike eventually landed a great job as a programmer for the Mayor's Office Division of Technology, and was amazingly supportive as Emily worked her way through school. In May 2005, Emily graduated with her Master of Arts in Teaching Visual Arts, and was awarded her teaching certification.
We got engaged on June 11th, 2008. There wasn't really a proposal inasmuch as there was a discussion with a mutually-agreed upon outcome--but if pressed, Emily will say that she proposed. (We basically decided, and then Emily asked the actual question, just to make it official!) The next day, we went online and chose engagement rings for one another, and have been planning the wedding ever since...we can't wait to write the next chapter in our ongoing story!
