"It took me 30 years and 3000 miles to find true love" - a true LDR success story! =)
I was at work today and whilst on lunch break, I was reading a magazine called Bella and I found the following article in it:
"Lisa McFarland, 41, tells Bella why you should never give up on "the one"....
Running to the playgound at lunchtime, I spotted a familiar flash of ginger hair by the oak tree. It was my boyfriend, Jim McFarland.
"I saved you a spot," he said, patting the ground.
"Thanks," I smiled.
I was only six but I called Jim my boyfriend because it made me feel grown-up. He was the same age as me but in a different class, so we met every break time under 'our' tree to eat our packed lunches and give each other the odd kiss on the cheek. And after school we walked home hand-in-hand, closely followed by my mum.
"Jim and I will get married and live in a big house," I told her.
"That's nice," Mum said, smiling.
We were inseparable. Then, when I was nine, Mum dropped a bombshell.
"We're enrolling you in that Catholic school," she said. It was a good school, but I thought the kids there were stuck up.
"I'm going to another school," I told Jim the next day.
"When will we see each other?" he said, looking at the ground.
"I don't know," I replied, tearfully. We were joined at the hop at playtime until it was time to say our final goodbye.
"See you around," he said as I left.
Jim lived near me and I hoped we'd bump into each other - but we never did. Three years later, we moved to a different part of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Over the next seven years I finished school and went to college. I often thought of Jim - his lovely red hair and infectious laugh. At 19 I got a job as a nanny in Canada. I'd always wanted to work there and this was an ideal opportunity. Before I left, I caught up with my friend Claire for a gossip and a glass of wine.
"Do you remember Jim McFarland from school?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied, rather too quickly.
"He's going to be a father."
"No," I spluttered into my drink.
My heart sank. I was being silly. We hadn't seen each other for 10 years - of course he'd moved on. I'd hoped he'd look for me now we were adults but this meant there was no chance. As I set off for Canada, excited for my new life, I pushed thoughts of Jim to the back of my mind. In 2003, I met Cameron through friends. We became serious and I applied for permanent residency in Canada. It was granted, and 2 years later, I fell pregnant with our daughter Charlotte. Every now and then I still thought about Jim. After all, we were both parents now. I tried to make my relationship with Cameron work but it was clear we weren't right for each other. When Charlotte was four, Cameron and I split. It was tough being a single parent, but I battled through.
Then, in October 2008, I signed up for Facebook. After a few days, I started to get friend requests from people back in the UK. "That's a blast from the past," I laughed to myself, clicking on some old friend's profiles. As I scrolled through someone's friend list, I froze. There was Jim. My heart beat wildly. His smile was still the same but he'd shaved off his lovely ginger hair. It had been 30 years since I'd last seen him. Would he even remember who I was? What have I got to lose by contacting him? I thought. If he didn't want to reply I was 3000 miles away.
Before I could change my mind, I fired off a message. "Hi Jim, remember me, Lisa Bibby, your first ever girlfriend?" I clicked the send button and tried to get on with my day. That night when I logged on and saw I had a new message - from Jim. "Nice to hear from you," he wrote. He had 2 children, Rachael (25) and Anthony (22) but had split from his partner. It felt as if no time had passed and we were back in the playground. I told him all about my daughter and we agreed to Skype each other. I bought a webcam and I spent ages on my hair and make up - I wanted to make a good impression. When our call connected I was left staring at an empty room before a sheepish-looking Jim came into view. We laughed and our shyness melted away. There was still a spark after 30 years. It was just so nice to be back in touch and I still found him really attractive. We began arranging regular "Skype dates" on a Friday night. Both of us bought pizza and wine so we could eat 'together'. The five hour time difference meant Jim was sometimes having dinner at midnight!
"Can I come and visit you?" Jim asked one night.
"I'd love that," I said.
So Jim booked a ticket to come visit us in Canada for three weeks in January 2009. "It's so nice to see you," I told him. "You too," he replied. I was excited but scared. What if we didn't get on? I needn't have worried. As soon as I saw him my stomach did a somersault. I fell into his arms. We rented a cottage in a forest near my home in Toronto and Charlotte came as well. There was four feet of snow and it was freezing, so we snuggled in front of the open fire and watched films. When Jim and Charlotte braved the cold they made snow angels.
"I really like Jim," Charlotte whispered to me.
When it was time for him to fly home, I was devastated. "I'll miss you," he said. Two months later, I visited Jim in Rochdale for 2 weeks while friends looked after Charlotte. "I love you," I said on the last night of my trip. "I love you too," he replied. "I always have."
When I told my mum, she couldn't believe we'd found each other again after all this time. Charlotte and I flew to the UK for another visit. One day Jim and I took a walk around our old neighbourhood. Suddenly he dropped to one knee. "I don't want to be apart any more. Will you marry me?" he asked.
We'd only been reunited eight months earlier. But I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. "Yes!" I cried. On the 29th December 2009 we had a small beachside ceremony in Florida. It was magical. A week later Jim had to return to the UK. We still had to wait for the paperwork to be approved before he could permanently move to Canada. We'd decided it made more sense for him to come to us so as not to uproot Charlotte. "We'll be together soon," he promised as I sobbed goodbye at the airport. Over the next year we only saw each other 3 times. "This is not how I imagined the start of married life," I complained. It seemed so unfair - we'd found each other after all those years and there were still obstacles keeping us apart. Finally, Jim's Canadian visa was approved and in January this year he moved to Toronto. Charlotte, now five, was as thrilled as me. She loves Jim to bits and he feels the same way. We'll be celebrating the New Year in our new home - a log cabin. Jim and I are happier than we ever thought possible. After 30 years apart, our childhood romance really does have a happy ending!"
Just shows how nothing is impossible
"Lisa McFarland, 41, tells Bella why you should never give up on "the one"....
Running to the playgound at lunchtime, I spotted a familiar flash of ginger hair by the oak tree. It was my boyfriend, Jim McFarland.
"I saved you a spot," he said, patting the ground.
"Thanks," I smiled.
I was only six but I called Jim my boyfriend because it made me feel grown-up. He was the same age as me but in a different class, so we met every break time under 'our' tree to eat our packed lunches and give each other the odd kiss on the cheek. And after school we walked home hand-in-hand, closely followed by my mum.
"Jim and I will get married and live in a big house," I told her.
"That's nice," Mum said, smiling.
We were inseparable. Then, when I was nine, Mum dropped a bombshell.
"We're enrolling you in that Catholic school," she said. It was a good school, but I thought the kids there were stuck up.
"I'm going to another school," I told Jim the next day.
"When will we see each other?" he said, looking at the ground.
"I don't know," I replied, tearfully. We were joined at the hop at playtime until it was time to say our final goodbye.
"See you around," he said as I left.
Jim lived near me and I hoped we'd bump into each other - but we never did. Three years later, we moved to a different part of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Over the next seven years I finished school and went to college. I often thought of Jim - his lovely red hair and infectious laugh. At 19 I got a job as a nanny in Canada. I'd always wanted to work there and this was an ideal opportunity. Before I left, I caught up with my friend Claire for a gossip and a glass of wine.
"Do you remember Jim McFarland from school?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied, rather too quickly.
"He's going to be a father."
"No," I spluttered into my drink.
My heart sank. I was being silly. We hadn't seen each other for 10 years - of course he'd moved on. I'd hoped he'd look for me now we were adults but this meant there was no chance. As I set off for Canada, excited for my new life, I pushed thoughts of Jim to the back of my mind. In 2003, I met Cameron through friends. We became serious and I applied for permanent residency in Canada. It was granted, and 2 years later, I fell pregnant with our daughter Charlotte. Every now and then I still thought about Jim. After all, we were both parents now. I tried to make my relationship with Cameron work but it was clear we weren't right for each other. When Charlotte was four, Cameron and I split. It was tough being a single parent, but I battled through.
Then, in October 2008, I signed up for Facebook. After a few days, I started to get friend requests from people back in the UK. "That's a blast from the past," I laughed to myself, clicking on some old friend's profiles. As I scrolled through someone's friend list, I froze. There was Jim. My heart beat wildly. His smile was still the same but he'd shaved off his lovely ginger hair. It had been 30 years since I'd last seen him. Would he even remember who I was? What have I got to lose by contacting him? I thought. If he didn't want to reply I was 3000 miles away.
Before I could change my mind, I fired off a message. "Hi Jim, remember me, Lisa Bibby, your first ever girlfriend?" I clicked the send button and tried to get on with my day. That night when I logged on and saw I had a new message - from Jim. "Nice to hear from you," he wrote. He had 2 children, Rachael (25) and Anthony (22) but had split from his partner. It felt as if no time had passed and we were back in the playground. I told him all about my daughter and we agreed to Skype each other. I bought a webcam and I spent ages on my hair and make up - I wanted to make a good impression. When our call connected I was left staring at an empty room before a sheepish-looking Jim came into view. We laughed and our shyness melted away. There was still a spark after 30 years. It was just so nice to be back in touch and I still found him really attractive. We began arranging regular "Skype dates" on a Friday night. Both of us bought pizza and wine so we could eat 'together'. The five hour time difference meant Jim was sometimes having dinner at midnight!
"Can I come and visit you?" Jim asked one night.
"I'd love that," I said.
So Jim booked a ticket to come visit us in Canada for three weeks in January 2009. "It's so nice to see you," I told him. "You too," he replied. I was excited but scared. What if we didn't get on? I needn't have worried. As soon as I saw him my stomach did a somersault. I fell into his arms. We rented a cottage in a forest near my home in Toronto and Charlotte came as well. There was four feet of snow and it was freezing, so we snuggled in front of the open fire and watched films. When Jim and Charlotte braved the cold they made snow angels.
"I really like Jim," Charlotte whispered to me.
When it was time for him to fly home, I was devastated. "I'll miss you," he said. Two months later, I visited Jim in Rochdale for 2 weeks while friends looked after Charlotte. "I love you," I said on the last night of my trip. "I love you too," he replied. "I always have."
When I told my mum, she couldn't believe we'd found each other again after all this time. Charlotte and I flew to the UK for another visit. One day Jim and I took a walk around our old neighbourhood. Suddenly he dropped to one knee. "I don't want to be apart any more. Will you marry me?" he asked.
We'd only been reunited eight months earlier. But I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. "Yes!" I cried. On the 29th December 2009 we had a small beachside ceremony in Florida. It was magical. A week later Jim had to return to the UK. We still had to wait for the paperwork to be approved before he could permanently move to Canada. We'd decided it made more sense for him to come to us so as not to uproot Charlotte. "We'll be together soon," he promised as I sobbed goodbye at the airport. Over the next year we only saw each other 3 times. "This is not how I imagined the start of married life," I complained. It seemed so unfair - we'd found each other after all those years and there were still obstacles keeping us apart. Finally, Jim's Canadian visa was approved and in January this year he moved to Toronto. Charlotte, now five, was as thrilled as me. She loves Jim to bits and he feels the same way. We'll be celebrating the New Year in our new home - a log cabin. Jim and I are happier than we ever thought possible. After 30 years apart, our childhood romance really does have a happy ending!"
Just shows how nothing is impossible
I almost started crying. Congratz to both of you!
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