The longest...

November 1, 2010

So tomorrow marks the longest amount of time Erik and I have ever been able to spend together without having to deal with an underway or deployment. Pretty crazy huh?! It really has me thinking a lot lately about how much and how little we have overcome in our relationship together. In almost 2 and half years we haven't been able to spend more than 3 months together without having to deal with a stupid ship. We started dating on July 4th 2008 and by September he had to go underway and again in October and again in January. Deployed in February 21st, 2009 and came home July 31st, 2009 and went underway again in November and deployed again  on January 2nd, 2010 and came home July 28th, 2010. Both deployments have made our relationship unbreakable, we share a bond that I have never shared with anyone else. We've gone through all that time apart with flying colors. The goodbyes, the phone calls, the care packages, the emails, and the homecomings. It sort of made us unstoppable. It's our crazy life.
It reminds me of when I first became a Navy girlfriend, me the girl who said no, not a military man for me. My dad was in  the Navy for 30 years, there was no way I wanted that life. But there was something about Erik. He was so easy to trust from the start, and made it so easy for me to fall head over heels in love with him. Would I go through all that time apart again? Bet your ass I would.
I'm so freakin' proud of how far we came, of how much we've grown that I forget on land, we still have a lot of things to learn. I could name off all of his favorites, and he could name mine. But it's little things. Like understanding each others feelings. Me especially, and golly I feel so bad for my emotions. I can go from one extreme to another extreme and I never know why. Or not getting mad when  he doesn't turn a light off when he leaves a room. Or not bugging each other when either I'm working, or he is trying to do something. We've learned each other from such a far distance, we've become so close from so far away that now, we just have to learn each other from the day in's and out's.
There is no doubt in my mind, that Erik is the one for me. Not a doubt. It's just going to take a little bit of time. I'm excited about all of our firsts, our first Spring together, our first Valentine's day, Easter, saint patty's day, our first anniversary that we can spend together. Our first new years eve that I can spend with Erik without crying my eyes out because I know that meant it was closer to 'd' day. I'm so excited. It's because of deployments that I can be excited, that I've learned not to take anything for granted.
No one ever said the life of a Navy girlfriend was easy, no one ever said it wasn't worth it either. I love my life and I love the love of my life. I wouldn't trade the pride, or the amazing, deep, unbreakable love that we share for anything in the world. We've had a lot of time apart, but now come the wonderful joy's of shore duty and the wonderful time of having him home. :)