From the very beginning, we both knew that the purpose of our relationship was to see if we should marry each other. Early on, we defined four distinct phases to our relationship. Phase 1 was new friends, just getting to know each other. We were introduced by my good friend Phil, who was dating Jess’ sister Katie (and will marry her Saturday, June 5, 2004). If we decided that we liked each other and wanted to become more serious in our relationship we’d move on to Phase 2. Phase 2 for us is our formal courtship. Phase 2 is being more than just friends and seeking to grow closer as we pursue marriage. It was on this day (February 28th) that we decided to enter Phase 2. Phase 3, when it comes, will be engagement, and Phase 4 will be marriage. We had only known each other for about 6 weeks when we entered into Phase 2, but we were quickly getting to know each other, and liked what we were getting to know. For a few weeks before Phase 2, we knew we were a little more than just friends getting to know each other, even though we weren’t quite courting, so we called our relationship “Phase 1.5”.
Posted: Thursday, June 3, 2004