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A Long Distance
To say the least, Tanner and my relationship wasn't at all what you would consider normal. We met in the least conventional way. He was an inmate, and I happened to work at the jail he was at. Rules were rules and nothing happened while I worked there. Soon after I left that job, his mother and I had a chance meeting. I happened to be in her home town with my sister at the local grocery store, and there she was too. We got to talking and she informed me that Tanner had moved locations, and then prompted to give me his address and concluding "Tanner would really like to hear from you." I didn't think anything of it, and tossed the slip of paper into my purse. Days later, while cleaning out my purse, I came across the piece of paper with the address neatly written on it. So I ended up writing him, and soon after received a reply. We kept in touch this way for awhile, and I even kept in touch with his mother. His mother and I soon became good friends, sharing our love for Tanner with each other through stories. It became really hard on me when Tanner was moved out of the local sheriff's office and into a prison about 7 hours away. He didn't write as much, and that really took its toll on me and his mother. However, with daily prayers, and trying to write him every day, my faith made it through. The day he got out, I'll never forget. I had been looking forward to this day for a very long time. His mother called me and told me the joyful news, and when he came home, that night we talked on the phone for hours. On my next day off, I drove to his house and spent the whole day with him and his family. Through the letters we received from each other, and our brief phone conversations, we ended up falling for one another. When I was actually able to put my arms around him and hug him-there were no words to express how happy and content I was. He was finally home and safe. Since that day, we have been together and couldn't be happier. The time and distance apart, were extremely difficult. But now when a problem arises, we know we can make it through-after all we made it through the most difficult time we'll ever have to face-distance!
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