Hello to anyone reading this!
The story of my long-distance romance starts two and a half years ago when I decided to go to Pennsylvania for a summer, with my best friend, and become a camp counselor (something I had wanted to do since high school). My fiancé had the same idea, except he was traveling from England to experience something uniquely American (apparently they don't really do summer camps in the UK). My best friend Katie and I got to the camp a couple days before orientation started and, since there were no kids yet, the counselors were free to mix, mingle, and get to know each other. Well I had met everyone there by the time my fiancé arrived, so when I saw him for the first time he caught my eye. Usually, I don't just jump into conversation with someone, but the one thing I noticed about him was that he was tall. I mean really, really tall, like as tall as my 6' 5'' brother, so I just had to go over and say hi.
Well I tried to muster up a hello, but all that came out was a "wow, you're tall." Which, of course, he smiled to, then answered with a much more polite "thanks, I'm Joe." That's when I caught the accent and blurted out "You're British?" That's what got the conversation going, so I guess for once my bluntness worked out for me. The summer went by with quick conversations during breaks and hanging out after hours, but a summer romance between us wasn't in the cards. The summer went by and we stayed friends just getting to know each other and enjoying the company. But the day came when camp was over and we had to say goodbye. There were no tears because Joe had already arranged to come visit a few weeks later with a few other friends from camp.
So, I went back to school and waited for those weeks to go bye. He visited and we started to really connect but there was always that hesitation because it seemed like nothing could come out of a relationship that kept us thousands of miles apart. This time when he left we were both confused and sad, I didn't really think I would ever see him after that. Sure, we would probably talk for a few weeks until we both settled back into out lives, but I didn't think it would come to anything.
Well it did. We talked on Skpye constantly, and made fake plans to come see each other. One of those plans came true when my mom surprised me with a trip to England with my best friend. She stayed at her boyfriend's house and I got four days of solid alone time with Joe. It was amazing getting to see England for the first time with the man who I was falling in love with.
Before I left that first time, we decided to try it out; after all, neither of us wanted to regret not trying. If it didn't work, it didn't work but at least we gave it a shot. From then on we went back and forth visiting for spring break, summer vacations, winter breaks, and finally studying abroad in England. After 2 years of going back and forth we are madly in love and happily engaged.
Let the wedding planning begin!
