Unity Martial Arts...
However silly it may sound, Jo and Gaylan met on a Wednesday night at Unity Martial Arts. Jo came into the dojo looking to start training again and Gaylan was the teacher at the evening beginner adults' class.
Soon Jo ended up working part-time at the dojo and her and Gaylan's friendship sparked quickly. Classes, dojo-parties, the craziness of Adventure Quest, and table top games were all part of how these two nerds bonded.
Were we dating?
From jump, friends at the dojo were encouraging Gaylan to ask Jo out. That question didn't officially come for over a year. Jo and Gaylan would hang out and go on plenty of adventures together (the photo is from the drive to DragonCon.) Parties, late night food, movies, art, and a lot of long conversations...
There were a couple of scary moments in life that popped up. A big one had Jo's dad in the E.R. J&G were at the movies and she got a frantic call from her mom... Jo crashed out of the theatre (forgetting to pay for her food, leaving her jacket behind, the whole nine yards) and raced to her parents' house. Gaylan was left with a lot of questions (obviously) but took care of everything and ended up finding Jo and her family at the E.R. He stayed until everyone could go home. Jennifer (part of Team Avatar) was there too. It was the first time she met Gaylan and she instantly knew what was up. J&G didn't.
Looking back, there were definitely plenty of dates but they didn't realize they were dating. Goofballs.
This silliness came to the forefront abruptly when, at Unity's 10 year anniversary dinner, Jo was (trying to) talking with Master Robert about a Cuong Nhu philosophy. Gaylan had played musical chairs with people (everyone was switching seats at the restaurant, all wanting to chat with all the friends) and was sharing his food with Jo who was absentmindedly eating it while paying attention to what M. Robert was saying. M. Robert, in the middle of his sentence, stops and asks "Are you two together??"
::FROZEN::
The only thing that fell out of Jo's mouth was "Um, no? He's my best friend.... at the dojo..."
The night continued on without pause. Celebrations and testing at the dojo were amazing all weekend.
That Sunday, after the insanity was over, was when Gaylan finally and officially asked Jo out.
Their first "official" date was hiking Pinnacle Mountain with Nova and going to Blaze Pizza afterwards.
Distance really does make the heart grow fonder...
In the middle of Jo and Gaylan (not)dating, Jo was recruited and hired to move to Japan to teach English. She had a lot of hopes, dreams, and goals wrapped up in this adventure.
When they started "officially dating," it was with full knowledge there was a clock involved... just a few months, a spring/summer thing, and life would move along.
NOPE. Guess again.
Jo still went off to Japan, intention fully forward and willing to let the world show her new things. But there's a lot of stress and scariness in moving to the other side of the world where culture, society, and language are all very different. It was invigorating. It was terrifying.
The one constant she had was Gaylan.
Through that far flung adventure, they didn't lose contact, they didn't stop talking, and they didn't break up. Instead they grew closer. Photos and small videos of Unity were sent to Jo. Photos and videos from life in Japan were sent to Gaylan. Letters and cards were constantly sent back and forth.
Jo's health problems weren't being cared for well in Japan. She tried hard, and Gaylan supported. Once the issues reared their heads fully, Jo's doctors in the States told her it would be best to return to the US.
By this point... Jo already knew she was going to propose to Gaylan. So, everything started to line up.
She beat him to the punch. But they were both on the same page.
the journey to the wedding day...
No one could have guessed a pandemic was going to rise up and shake the world to its core.
Gaylan came out to Japan to help Jo move back to America right as social distancing and quarantines were beginning in the States.
This journey is a little scary now. A lot is left to the unknown because J&G don't know what all will be available come May 4th 2021.
For right now, they are taking each day, each step, one at a time.
There is so much happening, it seems the world it spinning too fast. But, they have each other. More will be added along as the day for the wedding gets closer.
For right now, thank you for being a part of the big day.
<3
G&J