When Joan Higginbotham met Charlotte City Council member James Mitchell in September 2009, she scarcely could have imagined that two and half years later they would be planning their wedding.

For starters, she was not into dating politicians.

"When he told me that he was an elected official, I didn't necessarily see that as a plus," she said. "I come from Chicago, and we have a long line of very interesting politicians."

In addition, she was at a point in her life when making a love connection was not a top priority. She had just retired from a 20-year career as a mechanical engineer with NASA, where she made history as the third African-American female astronaut to travel into space.

Plus, her new position working with Marathon Oil was keeping her busy. She worked in the company's social responsibility office and did a lot of traveling. Her focus was on international operations, including managing a malaria program in Equatorial Guinea in west-central Africa.

The night Joan and James met, they were in Washington, D.C., attending the annual Black Party during the Congressional Black Caucus Convention. One of their mutual friends encouraged James to ask Joan to dance.

"We danced all night," she said. "We kind of shut the party down."

For the next two years, they dated long-distance, racking up thousands of frequent-flyer miles between Houston and Charlotte.

"It was nice because you miss each other, but then it was bad because you miss each other," said Joan. "When we got together it was good. It was short and sweet. I think towards the end of that second year, leaving was not such fun. It got a little tough."

They discussed marriage, and it became clear that something had to give.

"At some point we decided that we were going to try and make this work, so one of us was going to have to move, and that one of us was me," said Higginbotham, who moved to Charlotte in October.

Joan is now busy planning their wedding, which will be in mid-June at East Stonewall A.M.E. Zion Church.

She's enjoying her new life in Charlotte and loves her new job - director of community relations for Lowe's, where she oversees the company's charitable and educational fund.

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