Just two years ago, she was “the emo-haired girl who was too busy tending to her cats to socialize” and he was “a successful software guy who wasn’t too happy in his career.”
But now their plane’s delayed and they’ve been on a whole lot of plane rides together. Every one of the six years they’ve been an item, they’ve had their flights to Chicago disrupted by weather delays or cancellations. Every day.
“I tried really hard to think that the weather would never mess us up, but, of course, it always did,” Marcus said. “Three times, we landed on the tarmac for three hours. We spent a lot of time stuck in airport terminals or walking across the tarmac to catch flights.”
That’s when he talked to his girlfriend about leaving his job.
“I told her, you’re going to be dealing with weather, delays, canceled flights every weekend, and I don’t know if I can handle that,” he said. “And she said, we’re not going to be fighting over not getting to Chicago.”
So they decided they were done fighting about it and, in December, they made the move.
“After seeing all the turmoil and loss I have faced since having kids, I decided I no longer wanted to try and deal with the anxiety and stress that I feel,” Jodi said. “After months of me and my kids being apart, I was ready to change it up.”
The couple signed up to fly out of Chicago’s Midway Airport on Southwest Airlines when it launched a Chicago-Los Angeles route. In January, that changed — by the end of February, they were once again set to fly out of Midway.
Unfortunately, their February flight from Los Angeles to Chicago was canceled and then relented with yet another cancellation. The pair were left with no flights for almost two weeks — 24 hours, in total — at Midway.
“We never checked social media,” Marcus said. “We always thought that it was a given that we’d be able to make it to LA in time to go to Disneyland. We had the time to do the best we could to tell as many friends and family members as we could.”
In the end, they did make it to Disneyland, and the experience made them realize they really could work through their issues. They have a better understanding of each other and the things that really matter.
“It just so happened that the weather was not good that day,” Jodi said. “We were on the ground for almost 24 hours. I think we learned a lot.”
It was a “truly memorable experience,” she said. “And I think we’re stronger because of it.”
And in February, Jodi will be headed out of the city and into the air again. She booked two flights: one to Chicago and another to Los Angeles. Both are on Southwest, so chances are both will actually make it on time.
Still, if you’re hoping to find these lovestruck supercouple, you’re out of luck.
“It doesn’t make sense for me to keep a photo or a memory of our adventures together,” Marcus said. “The reality is that it’s too easy to lose touch.”
“I wish I had a camera in my purse at all times,” Jodi chimed in. “But, you know, that’s not how it works.”
The fact is: They’re off to something great.
Just ask their children.
“Now I know that going through a rough patch at a time in my life is good for me,” Marcus said. “It taught me to deal with, or move on from, the difficulties of that life stage.”
“Maybe they’ll be best friends when they’re older,” Jodi said. “And the rest of my life will be good, too.”