It is finally here! Today is the single day that Julie and I have been looking forward to for nearly 3 years! Today we finally get to be together without having to look forward to the next time we say "goodbye." Our wedding day was great, but this just as special for us!
To get to today, let me take you back to nearly 3 years ago.
Julie and I sat at the original Biggby coffee in East Lansing, Michigan. We talked about anything and everything. I had no idea she hated coffee when I suggested we go there. She was too polite to tell me she didn't like it. We talked about our likes and dislikes. We talked about our ambitions. Most importantly we talked about our families. I learned that her father was absolutely awesome and I may actually have more in common with him than I do with her.
About 6 months later, when Julie and my parents game to join me for the celebration of my completion of basic training I was overcome with anxiety knowing that Julie would spend 15 hours in a car with my parents and then stay in a rustic cabin at a local campground! I cant even spend that long in a car with my parents without ripping my hair out, let alone a cool girl who seemed to (luckily) still love me at that point!
The truth was that we both knew what was coming. It was my first week at Joint Base Lewis-McChord that we had the discussion about whether we should get married. It was important for me that she continue striving to reach her educational goals. She wanted me to not miss out on the Army career that I had made a priority. We knew that our live was strong but it would have to be more than that to survive what we've been through.
Nearly 3 years later Julie has come to love coffee, and I still have more in common with her father than I do with her. That road trip to Georgia with my parents is a frequent topic of laughter during family gatherings. When we married a year and a half ago we married each others families. We continue to value every moment we spend with them.
This coming weekend is really the celebration of the last 3 years. Julie has worked her butt off in school. While working as the athletic trainer for the George Washington University Gymnastics Team, Julie tackled a masters peogram with the same vigor as ever other challenge she has faced.She was not just another graduate student though. She dealt with all the typical college student problems, and oh by the way her husband was in a war zone.
She found a way to stretch a modest military salary to take care of both of our needs in Washington DC and Tacom at homes a WA. A bill never went unpaid.
While I was in Afghanistan, Julie literally never missed a call. She never missed a Skype date. Somehow she found a way to always be there when I needed her, even if she was taping ankles before the next meet. At one point I even remember her taking my call while she was dressed up as a giant tennis ball while working for the Washington Kastles. Her care packages, and those from the GWU Gymnastics Team were favorites in our platoon tent.
I have never been so blessed to know a woman with the strength and courage to take on the challenges that she did, and do so with so much determination. So many times in the last three years we have felt weak. We always looked to May of 2013. We did it!
Now we are writing a new chapter. After a quick vacation in Washington, DC and Michigan, Julie and I will be together at our home in Tacoma, Washington. It will be that "honeymoon period" that every couple has had the opportunity to enjoy. We have never had that. But at the same time, we have had so much more. For us it will be exciting to fight over dirty laundry. We are excited about eating leftovers together!
We have proven that Love And Loyalty Conquers Time And Distance.
Thank you for being a part of this journey with us!
Until next time...
Chris
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