It had been three years.
Margie, 53, had been raising seven children on her own since 2001, and in 2004 she received an annulment. After years of being a single mother, she joined CatholicMatch. She desired to share her life and her Catholic faith with someone.
In March of 2012, she contacted Joe, 50, but she was put off by his abrupt response: “I would love to talk to you. Here’s my phone number...” She decided not to reply.
To Quit or Try Again?
Months later, Margie had been praying and reviewing her potential matches when Joe's profile resurfaced. He was the only one that caught her eye. She had also considered quitting CatholicMatch.
“Well, I thought I either go off CatholicMatch or message Joe again.”
She chose the latter.
When Joe received Margie's initial message it was tax season and he was swamped with client's taxes. He forgot to follow-up with her, but when Margie sent him another message in June he took his time crafting a response.
Joe’s thoughtful reply led to a phone call. He knew immediately Margie would be someone special in his life. “I got off the phone and I said to myself, ‘If she’s not going to be my wife, then she’s going to be a very, very close friend,’” Joe remembers.
Joe's first marriage had also been annulled and they connected on a deep level: they both believed following the teachings of Catholicism and showing compassion were of equal importance. “We both thought that it was important to look at people with God’s heart and not just with His law,” Joe, father to two girls, explains.
Joe was also captivated by Margie’s infectious giggle and the joy she emanated. “I also sensed when I shared stories about my background that she got me. She wasn’t just listening to me politely. When she talked I felt like I was talking to my soulmate,” he says.
“After that phone call, we were both doing fist bumps in the air. Our conversation was so amazing,” Margie remembers.
The Laws of Attraction
“What I love about Joe is that he just says what he thinks,” Margie chuckles. “He told me on the phone shortly before we met, ‘I think I’m falling for you, so I hope you are good looking.’”
Joe adds, “It gets worse. On the way to meet her for our first date, I prayed the Rosary asking the Lord to make her good looking—as if God would change her if she wasn’t attractive. I had already fallen in love with someone I had never seen in person, so I really wanted to be attracted to her.”
Margie was from southern Maryland and Joe lived 90 miles away in northern Maryland. The two decided to meet in Annapolis, a midway destination, for their first date. They both happened to exit the freeway at the same time with Joe following directly behind Margie’s car.
Margie drove into the parking garage feeling flustered because she knew she wouldn't have time to fix her hair or check her makeup because Joe was right behind her.
“I pulled up to the place where you take the ticket—and I was so nervous because I knew he was behind me—for some reason I could not figure out how to get the ticket, so I opened the door, stepped out, and reached over the top of the door for the ticket. It didn’t dawn on me to roll down the window until that night at dinner when he asked me why I hadn’t rolled down the window to get the ticket. He had me so nervous that I just sat there looking at the ticket through my car window, wondering how on earth I was going to get it.”
Joe adds, “When she stepped out of the car to get the ticket, I wondered, ‘Why she was doing that!’”
Margie says she had been on many dates and she had never felt nervous, but with Joe, she was a bundle of nerves.
After the date, Joe walked Margie back to her car. This sounds ridiculous, but it’s the truth: the second he took my hand, I knew he that this was going to be the hand I would be holding for the rest of my life.”
After that first phone call in June, they talked every day for at least two hours and they would meet every weekend for a date.
Two Proposals
Though Joe was already sure in July that he wanted to marry Margie, he waited until October when he spontaneously proposed. However, they decided to keep it a secret until they got the ring in December. Once they had the ring, they took a picture of it and announced to everyone that they were engaged. Their family and friends were thrilled.
“There was unreserved happiness and joy for our meeting and getting engaged. Our kids connected with each other, so everything was going smoothly for us.”
In June of 2013, on a family vacation in the Nags Head, North Carolina they were married. "Getting married on the first day of the family vacation, we had a whole week for our children to get to know each other. It was the first time that everyone was together,” Joe says.
Yours, Mine, and Ours
There was a period of adjustment for their families to get used to living with one another. Six of the nine children were still living at home.
“When our children first all got together there was so much excitement. You hear about all the difficulties blending two families, but for us everything was going perfectly. But as time goes on people get on each other’s nerves. They had to work through those problems. Also, it was difficult on Margie’s boy because they moved 90-miles away from all of their friends,” Joe explains.
Margie adds, “Joe has two girls who had never lived with boys. I have two girls and five boys and my boys had never lived with younger sisters. There definitely were some growing pains. Though I will also say, two plus years into our marriage they confide in each other. They have bonded."
Joe and Margie are grateful for the busyness and everyday rhythm of their life together. "We love the celebrations and fun: birthdays, graduations, family vacations, grandchildren, amusement parks, etc.
Yet, we also love the normal every day because we do it together. Together, we grocery shop, cook, landscape, do home repairs and projects.
Yet, the best part of our day is praying together. Our true joy comes from a truly shared life. Our faith defines us, it is our heart. To us, CatholicMatch is the vehicle that God used to answer our long prayed prayers."
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