Oh what a semester it has been this spring in my classes... and all the minor problems in life that have popped up since my dear husband left for deployment! It's been hectic and quite stressful, but on April 6th I found this sitting next to the garage door.
Talk about a surprise seeing my name listed as the recipient. I've never received anything from
1-800flowers.com before so when I opened it I was pretty amazed by the
snazzy shipping box with it's instructions for the receiver and separate
little compartments for each item.
It took me a little bit to figure out how to get the flowers and vase out without ripping everything apart. But I managed and after I trimmed the stems and filled the vase with water I stepped back and smiled as I stared at my gorgeous two dozen yellow roses from wonderful husband!
Oh what some gorgeous yellow roses and a few typed words can do to a girl! These are my absolute favorite, not just any rose... yellow roses. AND TWO DOZEN OF THEM! Talk about making me smile. The note just put me over the top, nothing fancy, but simply, "JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU. KRIS" The only thing better right now would be if he walked through the door. That time will soon enough come, but boy I am anxious! He is my best friend and I can't imagine a life without him. I miss him more than words can express. This little surprise seems like the perfect opportunity to introduce my husband.
He became a pretty significant role in my life in January 2005. I remember it like yesterday. My freshman year of high school we came back from Christmas break and I had been switched to a new lunch period. Thankfully one of my dear friends, Morgunn, was in that lunch too. I joined her that first day back, and her boyfriend of the time, Seth, and his friend, Kris. Before that day, Kris and I had very little interaction with one another. I didn't really know much about him. I knew he was in the grade above me, had been here since 5th grade, and was the guy who ran hurdles. That was pretty much the extent of it. I remember going with Morgunn one night to a basketball game (Seth played basketball). We were standing up in the bleachers excited and being silly cheering on our guy's basketball team, who did very well that year, when I slipped back off the bleacher and almost fell back on to Kris who was standing in the row behind me. He caught me and I apologized and Morgunn and I continued our excited jumping in the stands. I fell back again and after that it just became a game for Kris. He would intentionally make me fall. I think he was flirting ;)
As the weeks went by we continued to have lunch in our little group everyday and would go to the basketball games together. Something always happened. Kris would pop my gum on my face if a blew a bubble or go through my things. Once he took my watch and wore it home with him. I remember the next day having the SAT and getting griped at by my parents the night before for not having a watch to take (ya know...since you MUST have everything on that list of recommended items to bring. Ha! Ha!) The following evening while having some girl chat with Morgunn over the phone while she was over at Seth's house, Kris steals her phone to tell me he has my watch and then proceeds to accidentally drop it in the kitchen dish water. (Perhaps that's why I have now received 2 fossil watches from him...Ha! Ha!) Superbowl 2005 was quickly approaching and after all these silly encounters I had a crush on Kris, but secretly...of course! Ha. Ha. I came back to the table after getting my lunch one day to find Kris drawing on my book cover. He drew a big heart and inside it put the words, "Megan loves Kris." I laughingly denied it, until in the next class I told Morgunn I had a crush on him and was excited for the four of us to hang out at Seth's for the Superbowl. The night of the Superbowl was fun, we all had a good time. Right at the end when the Patriot's won, Kris planted one on me, and then another, and another. My first kiss...or two...or three. Shortly after, it was time for us to leave so Morgunn and I went back to her house and we stayed up talking about my excitement. I was all giddy that night, just like I was today when I got these roses.
Our sweet innocent kissing between bells at school and only seeing each other at sporting events didn't last much longer, maybe a month after the Super Bowl. I didn't have a cell phone and if we both weren't at school for lunch we never really saw each other. Having never been in a relationship and unable to date until I was sixteen made it a bit difficult. I had Seth "dump" him for me. Poor Kris. I avoided him until school got out for the most part (I know how mean was I?!?) I came back from Summer break ready to start to my sophomore year and wondered if running into Kris would be awkward. I never found him though, I even looked for him for about a week then asked Seth, who told me Kris had moved back to his old school.
A couple months later our schools were playing one another in football and Morgunn and I were walking around when I spotted him. I ducked behind her in hopes he wouldn't see me. (I know! What a chicken I was! I guess I was worried of what he thought of me, who knows I was fifteen.)
Five months pass by and I am walking around a local FFA/FCCLA show messing with my phone when Kris catches my attention. Looking up startled wondering who it was I quickly realized it was him and thought "Dang. He looks really good today." He had on a button down pink and white shirt, jeans, some flip flops, and his glasses. That was the first time I saw him in glasses and I instantly loved it. Still anytime now when he puts on his glasses I find him super sexy! He asked me if I wanted to go watch the pig show that was taking place so I accepted and we went in there and briefly talked. He asked me for my number and I gave it to him (yep, the real number). I thought he would call, but he didn't....at least not for 3 months anyway. Ha. Ha. Way to make me wait. Payback probably. ;)
It was Summer 2006 and I was watching a movie one night with good friends Erin, Drew, and Trent, when my phone rang. I answered and after a bit of confusion discovered it was Kris. I remember him saying "Well, I guess you're busy. I'll call back later," then he hung up. He never called again.
A few months pass again and I remember sleeping over at Erin's and talking about boys and telling her I wish I had a good boyfriend and that I missed kissing Kris. A week or so later when we get back to the school from an away volleyball game, Erin and I managed to convince my parents to let me watch a little bit of the football game that was going on even though I was supposed to be grounded. Good thing too because walking in I walked right past him until Erin stops me and says, "Isn't that Kris?" I turned around and there he was ready to say, "Hi." We started talking and before he had to go he said we should get together for burgers and a movie or something and I smiled and told him we should. (Later down the road he informed me that he was wearing his lucky bull riding shirt that night. Guess it paid off!) We shared another kiss on September 16, 2006 and have been together ever since.
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| Prom May 2007 |
We've been battling distance for as long as I can remember. Aside from the little separations I just mentioned, Kris graduated high school and went off school 2 hours away. He came home every weekend to see me, but one. Those 5 days use to seem so long.
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| Labor Day 2007 |
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Then I went off college 3 hours away from home to play softball. It became even harder with my schedule. We were always on the road playing and those 5 days apart seemed like nothing when they turned into 24 days apart. That soon became a breeze when Kris joined the Marine Corps and left for boot camp just 1 week before I got out for summer break. Separated for 13 weeks with no communication aside from letters was the longest summer of my life. Family day was the best hello ever though. I remember being told you can get one hug then immediately go behind the bleachers off the parade deck. No kissing, no holding hands, no public display of affection. We spent the afternoon starring at each other and sneaking in hugs while inside the PX. Then when it was time for him to go for the night he hugged me and his family goodbye. He came back to hug me another time and told me to kiss him as he pulled me in and planted one on me. Basically he took my breath away.
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| Family Day at MCRD San Diego August 6, 2009 |
After boot camp graduation Kris got to come home for eighteen days and that last day home he got down on his knee and asked me to marry him.
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| Moments before he proposed |
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| Christmas 2009 |
Twelve months later he came home and I met him on the other side of the aisle. It was the best day! We were so happy. In that moment we knew we finally wouldn't have to struggle with the distance we had all the prior years.
Our first year of marriage was wonderful and brought us our precious daughter.We were able to spend so much more time together compared to the other years. We were happy. Then we were thrown another distance, the largest of them all....Deployment. Such a dreaded scary word that everyone hopes will just never happen. From the moment I found out he would deploy I put it in the back of my mind and ignored it like it wasn't reality. That day quickly crept up on me and was on of the hardest things I've ever experienced.
It's been tough, I won't lie. I cry, I get mad, I have even screamed, but I am okay. I know it's just a tiny fraction of the big picture. We will get through this just like all other separations. Then the little things like a simple note with 24 yellow roses pick me up on the days I am sad and act as a reminder that everything is going to be just fine because with a love like this we can do anything. It's unbreakable. It's everything.
He's everything.
-Meg
