This blurry photo was taken in 2008 on a "flip phone" - four years after we first met. We originally crossed paths in high school German class and quickly became friends! However, we did not date until after Joe completed his basic training with the Air Force and Heather left to study Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois. So, essentially, we began our relationship as long distance from the very beginning.
Despite being far apart, (Joe living in Baltimore, Maryland and Heather in Champaign, Illinois), we always found a way to visit and stay in constant communication. In 2009, Joe was deployed to Iraq and Heather went to live in California for the summer.
When Joe returned from Iraq, he was reassigned to Little Rock Air Force Base. Heather had returned to Illinois to finish her degree. This put the couple within 8 hours of each other by car. Not bad for having been half a world apart. We continued dating (as everyone who knows us knew was inevitable). A fond memory of Heather's is how sweet it would be that Joe would drive all the way to Champaign from Little Rock for just a quick weekend trip! Heather traveled to Little Rock as well. It was great to be back "near" each other!
Next, Joe traveled off to South Korea for his next assignment in the Air Force. Heather moved to Texas and started her career in Houston as an engineer working in Oil and Gas. Being so far apart again was hard. The 13 hour time difference was not ideal but we managed to still keep each other involved in our lives.
After getting out of the Air Force officially, Joe moved to Arizona to complete his training as a helicopter pilot. When Joe graduated from flight school, we decided that enough was enough and it was time to live in the same area. Joe moved across the country to join Heather in Houston...
......but our stay in Houston was short. Heather decided to go back to school for Dentistry - so in 2015, we packed our bags again and moved to San Antonio, TX.
We had a good run in San Antonio for about 3 years until Joe got the opportunity to work in Corpus Christi. In January 2018, Joe packed up and moved his life south. In July 2018, Heather was accepted to a 2 year residency in Dallas. So now, we are long distance yet again! But what else is new?