My First and Only Love (Part Two)

Getting ready for my cousin's wedding--nice laundry room picture. ha!

He said "I knew you'd come back to me." Not in a snarky or smug kind of way. You can tell in his letters, he knew we were meant to be. He believed in long before I did. We rekindled what we had through letters while he was going through heck at boot camp. It was kind of romantic. Of course, we still have all the letters to and from each other.

My cute wedding date. Fresh out of boot camp.

Flowers that were waiting for me at the table.

I flew home to Kentucky after he graduated boot camp to go to my cousin's wedding. But that was just an excuse to see Jaime. (I think my parents knew that.) It was the first time I've ever seen him in those sharp dress blues. After the wedding, we didn’t stay for the reception because Jaime said we had to be somewhere. I was so confused, he didn't mention anything before the ceremony; plus receptions were/are my favorite part of weddings! Little did I know that Jaime had made reservations at Outback (can you tell it's his favorite restaurant?) for us. There was a vase filled with roses and yellow flowers on the table they set us at. I was so surprised! 

My promise ring and his Marine Corps ring.

Jaime was so nervous acting and I couldn’t figure out why. I know you’re probably thinking: HE PROPOSED! Nope, nothing happened. After dinner we went to our favorite restaurant Saul Good’s for dessert. Went home and watched a movie. After the movie, he started saying how he loved me and wanted me to wait for him. As he was saying sweet romantic things, he slipped a ring into my hand. My heart stopped because I thought it was an engagement ring. I wasn't quite ready for that. Plus I did not want a long engagement--which is hilarious when you find out how long technically we were engaged for. Anyways, I still had a year and half of college left and his future was unknown. Scary for a 19 year old. Luckily, he just gave me a promise ring that night. But it meant a lot to both of us. I always had a little piece of Jaime with me and some days that just what I needed to make it through. I didn’t want to leave to go back to college that next day not knowing when I would see him again.

The day he came home for two weeks.

Shooting clay pigeons on my grandparents farm.

I finished my Freshman spring semester while Jaime had gone to MCT(training) and MOS school(learning his job in the Marine Corps). Jaime found out he was being stationed in Okinawa, Japan for TWO years. It didn’t really hit how hard that was going to be until much later. He got to come home to Kentucky for two weeks before he had to report in Okinawa. Those were some of the best weeks together. 

Dinner with the family.

I tried to fit in his bags to go with him to Okinawa.

We spent every single day together. I had got hired at a slaughter house (maybe that should be another story) while he was home and had to go to work the very day he left for Okinawa. So we said our goodbyes in my driveway. As we both pulled up to the stop sign, he parked his truck and jumped out and gave me one last kiss. Bittersweet memory. 

Thank the Lord for Skype

We had no idea when the next time we would see each other. In the middle of my sophomore fall semester, Jaime got the orders to deploy to Afganistan in February. My heart sunk. He was training a lot before he left and we didn’t get to talk much. Skype was our best friend but the time difference made everything more difficult. Looking back I am so thankful he was deployed while I was in school. I really focused on my studies that spring and tried hard not dwell on the fact my best friend was in Afghanistan fighting for our country. That may sound a little dramatic...but that's what was happening. Although this deployment was nothing compared to his last one. I wish they were all as safe as this one was.

Afghanistan 2012

Communication where he was was little to none. We got maybe 10 texts a piece to each other almost daily and I got 2 phone calls (if I was lucky) a month while he was there. That made for a long 7 months. 

Graduation Day with my parents.

The last week of class, through text messages, we decided we were getting married that September when he got home from deployment. Of course, that wasn’t a traditional proposal. That’s not how I dreamed I’d “get engaged.” Every time I had to tell that story, I got the worst looks and judgements. They were valid to ask questions, they wouldn’t have if the didn’t love me and want the best for me. The day he came home I hadn’t physically seen him for 431 days! Trust me, I had plenty of time to think about this huge commitment I was getting ready to make. I had some doubts. I prayed a lot. I didn’t want to do the wrong thing. I think it’s healthy to question yourself. This is a lifetime commitment to one person. Till death do you part. But I knew. I just knew. God gave me a peace that this was the man I’d love through good and bad for the rest of my life. I graduated in May 2012 with my Associates in Medical Office Administration. 

One of my first days on the job.

Found THE dress with my mom.

I got a job at an insurance agency a month after graduation as the receptionist. I had 3 and a half months to get this together before Jaime came home for the wedding. Thankfully mom and my family helped so much! I couldn’t have done it without them. The communication was horrible in Afghanistan so I made most of the decisions on my own. Jaime got back to Okinawa the end of July and wasn't allowed to go on leave till September...

The day he got to Okinawa! First Skype in almost 9 months.

Part 3 Coming Soon!