I (Joanie) joined Catholic Match in March of 2009 in response to prompting
from my brother and his girlfriend (they are engaged now too!) who had
met on Catholic Match. I had never used any kind of online dating
service but I definitely wanted to find somebody who shared my Catholic
faith. I decided I had nothing to lose and a husband to potentially
gain, so I signed up for a month.
I remember commenting to my
sister after paying for that first month, gosh for this price I better
find a husband on here! Haha. It really wasn't that much. :)
A
few weeks into that month I had been on a few dates with one very nice
guy, but we didn't have the connection I was looking for. Then Martin
messaged me for the first time. I had mentioned in my profile that I
was involved in pro-life activism and I remember him commenting on that
in his first message to me and saying that he too was very dedicated to
the pro-life movement. That provided an instant bond.
From
his profile I learned that he came from a family of six children,
coming from a family of seven myself, I really liked that. He answered
yes to all of the "faith questions" which was essential to me. I also
found that he had listed "5+" as his preference for the number of
children to be had one day and I got very excited.
After
exchanging several messages and a few phone conversations we decided to
meet in person. I'm from the Detroit area and he lives in Dayton Ohio,
but he had planned to visit a college friend in Ann Arbor MI so we
decided to meet on that weekend in Ann Arbor (only about 30 min from
Detroit).
On that first date, May 9, 2009, I met a very
good-looking, friendly and fun guy who shared my faith, values and
goals for the future. It was almost too good to be true! I had never
been on a date like that. Before parting we discussed where we saw the
relationship heading, particularly given the three hour drive between
us. But we both felt we wanted to give it our best effort and find a
way to see eachother in spite of the long distance.
Since
that first date we have seen eachother almost every weekend, taking
turns visiting back and forth. We fell in love quickly. In each other
we found everything we had ever hoped for and more. Without reservation
we both realized we had found "the one."
On October 16, 2009,
after dating for only five and a half months, Martin proposed to me in
the small Catholic relic chapel where his father had proposed to his
mother. I of course said yes and we have spent the last month sharing
the news with our friends and family and planning our wedding. The date
is set for Saturday April 10, 2010.
