...the friendship intensified.
Aaron
and I (Jamie) began emailing on April 4, 2003. He was actually the very
first member with whom I had any communication on Catholic Match. We
slowly formed a friendship. He was dating someone. I was dating
someone. Aaron and I talked to each other about these relationships, as
well as our lives in general. Sometimes we'd have very long telephone
conversations. One even lasted over eight hours!
Eventually,
each of our romantic relationships ended and the friendship between
Aaron and me intensified. On February 27, 2004, Aaron flew form Ann
Arbor, MI, to New York City to meet me. It was a beautiful week! Our
first "date" was a Christopher West speaking engagement on JP II's
Theology of the Body. Towards the end of his ten-day visit, I took him
home to Pennsylvania to meet my family. They loved him too!
Aaron
came back to Pennsylvania in April for Easter, and then I accompanied
him to Ann Arbor for the followingweek. On only our third visit, he
drove back to help me move out of my apartment in NYC, as I had
completed graduate school, and he took me to St. Louis for the summer.
Aaron is a law student. We both had summer breaks because I had yet to
find a job, and Aaron's family said they would be glad to have me stay
with them for the summer. Aaron and I spent 100 full days together. We
got to know each other well, and the whole time keeping our commitment
to be chaste. It was wonderful and very difficult!
As the end of
the summer of 2004 neared, I still did not have a job. Aaron had to
return to school, so I went home to my parents' house. This was a
blessing, as I got to spend a lot of time with my dad, who was quite
ill. At the end of September I was offered a job at a crisis pregnancy
center in Ann Arbor. The only job in Ann Arbor for which I applied! I
was absolutely not going to follow some boy from whom I have no formal
commitment around the country! God truly opened a door for us. Aaron
and I continued to date through the autumn and winter. Aaron was there
when my father passed away on Holy Saturday. He was a tremendous
support to both me and my whole family.
Three weeks before my
dad died, Aaron visited him in the hospital to ask for his blessing to
marry me. On March 4, 2005, in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York
City, Aaron asked me to be his wife. I could not have been happier! It
was such a beautiful blessing to me that my dad knew we were going to
get married and was so happy for us.
Aaron and I were married on
August 6, 2005. Our honeymoon baby is due on May 1, 2006! We are so
thankful for the precious gift that God has blessed us with. I still
work at the crisis pregnancy center, and Aaron will graduate from law
school on May 14. The baby is due during his last round of finals!
Thank you, Catholic Match, for helping the Holy Spirit to lead Aaron
and me to each other!
