It only seems fitting that I explain how. I became a Marine wife, which led me to be mother.

I met my husband Christopher when I was 16 years old. From the moments I laid eyes on him I knew that was a guy I wanted to get to know. He was two years older, and a year ahead of me in school. He was the teacher assistant in my industrial electronics class.

Chris was very shy back then, I tried everything to get him to notice me (beginning the only girl in the class made that easy). From asking questions and getting help with work I already knew how to do. I tried for weeks, but nothing. I finally decided I would write my phone number down, and just hand it to him. And I did. Who knew one tiny piece of paper with ten little numbers would be the start to such a beautiful love story.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing from there though. We fell for eachother, and we fell hard. Spending every spare second we could find together. It was a intensity I had never felt in my life. I was so in love in such a short time.

After a month or so, I decided to take him to meet my mother. She was not a fan of the very shy, quiet, and older boy I had brought to meet her. In her words, “a boy that is that quiet is going to grow up to kill people”. Yes, my mother is a very dramatic woman. But being only 16, I was obviously very influenced by my mother, and I let her force me into breaking things off with Chris.

Chris and I remained broken up for almost two years. However we never fully lost touch. From the occasional conversation in the hallway, the long stares the lunch room, and the random pictures of the ocean he texted me after we both graduated high school in 2015.

In August of 2015, I had just gotten out of a not very serious relationship, and had just started college. I decided to go see a movie, American Ultra, with my sister, her boyfriend at the time, and his cousin. Sitting on the top row, eating popcorn waiting for the movie to start, I saw two guys walk in and sit on the bottom row. I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was Chris, of all the people in all the movies he was in mine. If that wasn’t a sign, I don’t know what is. I decided to get up and go sit with him. We talked for a while and watched the movie together. Then decided to see another. I learned he had enlisted in the United States Marine Corps a year earlier and would be leaving for bootcamp the following Sunday, Only 2 days later. I was in shock, I had no idea what that meant and what would happen next. So we made plans to see each other again.

The following day he picked me up, and I ran a few errands with him he had to get done before leaving, then we got ice cream and sat and talked for hours. It was as if no time had passed. He was still the same guy I was crazy about. I never wanted the day to be over. Unfortunately, that evening I had to got to my job at the Waffle House that evening so he took me home and I went to work. To my surprise I see his truck pulled into the parking lot, it was clear in that moment he felt the same way I did. He didn’t want the day to end either, so he came in to eat and he sat there and we talked for three hours until my shift was over. We had plans to write letter back and forth while he was in bootcamp. Knowing he leaving the next day, and that I had to work I probably would see him again for three and a half months I was crushed. I missed him already when he was standing right infront of me. Little did I know this was only the beginning of many “see you laters” we would have to say.

To be continued…

Xoxo, Leighla 🖤