Love Journey: A Walk in the Park

Of all the places to begin a love journey, Phillip and I began ours on an American Heart Walk. I started the walk with an older friend and coworker of mine, Lynn, a single mom who was as brazen a matchmaker as there ever was. She spotted him first, walked ahead, shamelessly got his particulars, returned and then told me to go talk to him. Shamelessly, I did.

I have no idea what happened to Lynn. But I crossed the finish line walking side-by-side with a handsome new friend. Within a couple of days, I asked HIM out (I am woman, hear me roar). Exactly a week later, we had our first date…a day full of antiquing in which we discovered we both loved finding a good story, especially one that was printed 100 years ago.  

We thought we had found a good story in each other. We were right. But, at that time, it didn’t unfold exactly was we anticipated it would. Two months after we started walking together, we broke up.

Funny thing is, we kept “walking”.

Like many ended romances, we uttered the time-worn, “let's remain friends.” But the truth is, we actually did. For seven years.

I can’t explain why, but for some reason, even as our lives took us in different directions (and to different states), we kept “walking” together. Over time, a strong friendship grew from all that walking. Six years in, and from nearly 600 miles away, Phillip called me one day and asked if I would ever consider dating him again. I brushed off the silly comment thinking, “this is a ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ moment. He is nearing 30 and he just doesn’t want to be alone.”  He’ll come to his senses. We’re just walking here. I persistently avoided giving him an answer.

A year later, he asked me again. He apparently persistently meant what he said.

I invited him to visit me in Chicago to investigate the idea. There are many things I remember about that weekend. But, the moment that remains most clear in my mind? Catching his eye in sea of people at O’hare and watching him walk towards me. I just knew.

This “walk” was going to last a lifetime.

We walked down the aisle five months later and have been walking side-by-side ever since. Our story hasn’t looked like your average love journey. Nevertheless, it is a good one. And like my 1905 leather-bound copy of Romeo and Juliet (see photo…a souvenir from our first date)…I hope ours will continue to be a story of great love, precious enough to hang onto for 100 years.

“As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” – 1 John 1:6