Local Love Stories: My Heart Still Skips A Beat

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we asked Patch readers to share their love stories. It all started at church camp in Carlisle, Pennsylvania nearly thirty years ago.

Whether you’re a fan of Valentine’s Day or the thought of red and pink decorations makes you want to puke, we’ve got a hunch everyone could use some happy news this month. And what’s happier than a love story?

We asked Patch readers on Facebook to share their local love stories — how they met, where it all went down, and what’s kept them together. Here's the story of Stephen and Jara and how their teenage romance blossomed into a lifelong love.

I met my wife Jara when I was 16. We are both 44 now. It was a long distance relationship at first as she was from New Cumberland, PA and I was from Warrington. We met at a church camp in Carlisle, PA. My mother would drive me from our home to her house about once a month. We would then take the bus to see each other after that.

I needed money to see my honey so I would do whatever necessary. I sold my guitar, baseball cards, savings bonds and coins that I owned just to purchase bus tickets and pay for the long distance phone calls I made. In tenth grade, I quit the soccer team (I wasn't very good, anyway) so I could see her more. If Jara and I would have attended the same high school, I am pretty sure she would have dumped me like the other nine girlfriends I had before her. However, since she didn't really get to find out what a juvenile delinquent I was, she stuck with me. I eventually went to college, first Bucks County Community College and then transferred to Elizabethtown College, which was closer to her house.

I couldn't wait to marry her so we got married while I was still attending college. We were only 22. Since then, we have raised two wonderful teenagers together, have had a lot of fun and endured some hard times too. We had a miscarriage, I survived cancer, 2009 meltdown of the car business, moved and then moved back to the place we were from all in three years, etc. But throughout all these times, I can honestly say that my heart still skips a beat when I see her walk by.

(Submitted by Stephen L.)

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