It all started with a message by Dan to Patricia that commented on similarities he saw in our backgrounds. Patricia didn’t get that message immediately, but when she got the notice that a message had been sent, she rejoined Catholic Match and responded in a similar vein. It was quickly established that we had been raised in families that espoused similar values about religion, education and the role of the family. Further, we discovered that we had lived less than a mile apart during our growing up years…and yet had never met.
After a flurry of messages using the Catholic Match message system, we exchanged e-mail addresses and phone numbers and continued to write to one another, further examining our common interests.
And then on a rainy day in Florida, when Dan was supposed to be playing in a golf tournament, Patricia sent an e-mail and questioned whether he could possibly be playing golf with all the rain. She then mentioned that her plans for the rest of the day included a K of C Fish Fry at her parish and Stations of the Cross with members of her parish Catholic Singles Support Group. On the spur of the moment, Dan sent the message that he would join them. Patricia was excited to finally get to meet Dan, especially since it would be in the company of a number of her friends. The recognition by both Patricia and Dan when he came into the parish hall was immediate due to our Catholic Match profile photos.
As some might say, the rest was history. Fish Fry and Stations were followed a day later by an invite for dinner and dancing that were then followed by a walk on a favorite beach, and many other dates. We had the advantage as retirees of being able to compress many months or even years of getting to know one another into a much shorter time. Within a month, Patricia and Dan knew they were destined to spend their lives together as husband and wife.
We quickly began the marriage preparation process. As that unfolded with Pre-Cana, discussions with the coordinating couple of potential disagreement issues shown by a computer analysis, and meeting with Patricia’s pastor, we became even more committed to a life together.
We were formally engaged on May 8th, just 2 months after we first met in person. We look forward to celebrating the Sacrament of Marriage at Mass on September 4th.
