Long-distance relationships are a stable of the success stories of Faith, Hope & Love. Ed and Janet not only worked in long distance with each other, but around their families as well, on a journey that took them from Texas to Arkansas to the Upper Midwest.
Janet is from Texas and after she and Ed came across each other’s profiles, they put in substantial time over a period of several weeks in phone conversations before deciding it was time to meet. Janet found that to be a positive—“a 500 mile distance between us for many months enabled us to focus on each other's personalities, likes & dislikes, etc., instead of experiencing a physical encumbrance that so often defines a new relationship between single people. Prior to meeting... We established a real friendship.”
Without that friendship the relationship might not have got off the ground, because Janet candidly admitted that the man from Little Rock, AR didn’t have a lot of the physical attributes that she would have found ideal—from his height, his weight to not having a movie star appearance. Janet fears that had the met sooner she might have judged Ed too quickly and not seen the more important virtues he possessed—his sense of humor, kindness and genuine sweetness. And, as she put it, “even though Ed is 10 years older than myself I saw that he was energetic and young at heart.”
By the time Ed drove the 500 miles to Janet’s door it already felt like they’d known each other for years. Their driving wasn’t done. Her children and grandchildren were in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, so they hit the road together to meet the family. She drove to Arkansas to meet Ed’s circle of friends and confidants.
They both share a deep love for the Eucharist, so it was appropriate that Ed gave her a diamond ring in the Adoration Chapel of his parish. Several months later they were married and are beginning a new life together. “I’m SO glad we had that distance between us, as we fell in love slowly, and for real,” Janet said. The time on the road paid off for both of them.
