FYI – this is a series. You might want to start here or at least here to understand what I’m talking about today…

Because it’s how we met. Online. And back when it was still kinda weird to meet someone online.

But . . . God.

Our paths would have never crossed in actual real- life – we lived across town from one another and we didn’t run in the same circles.

There was literally a window of three days in which we could have connected.

And did I mention he was exactly my age and a card-carrying member of the divorce club?

We chatted via email for a while until one day, I didn’t hear from him again.

Thinking it was just a fun flirtation with someone I had never met, I moved-on – though admittedly, I was a bit bummed.

But then there was a night in which I had a really good time and had a bit more courage than usual and I emailed him to see why he left me hanging.

“I thought YOU left ME hanging,” he wrote. Apparently, he didn’t get my reply and had been thinking the same thing about me.

It was the first, and only, time I was thankful for liquid courage.

We decided it was time to speak on the phone so we did – for three hours on a beautiful spring night.

Our first date was the following night and well . . . here we are.

During the two years we dated, we very slowly began to walk through our journey of faith.

It was a two steps forward, one step back kind of process.

Honestly, we were in the infancy stages of sorting through what it meant to follow Jesus and we both carried a bit of baggage (massive understatement). There was stuff we had to work through (And, for the record, we’re still working through).

But, on most days, it’s a good thing and we complement one another in a way that smooths out our differences and balances us out.

He is practical, clear-minded, level-headed, and funny.

I am “on a whim,” scattered thoughts and wear my emotions on my sleeve.

Somehow, it works – on most days. On other days, it doesn’t work so well.

And that, my friends, is called marriage.

But anyway . . . Jason proposed on April 16, 2004 – during my mother’s birthday dinner.  He assembled all of our closest friends for the occasion and they were waiting to celebrate with us in the bar of the restaurant.

It was one of the most enjoyable moments of my life.

Since it was our second marriage, we knew the ceremony and reception would be informal so a long engagement wasn’t necessary.

We landed on July 16 – a mere three months after our engagement.

The busy spring continued and since I was a teacher, my job commenced in June for the summer. I had planned to use the slower-paced schedule to plan last minute details and just enjoy the journey.

And I did. But not in the way I expected . . .

We’ll take a look at unplanned events next Monday in Part Thirteen . . .

 

 

 

 

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