The Boy

If you keep up on here, you will realize that I never call the boyfriend by much other than "the Marine." This has to do with the fact that the title of the blog is "A Girl and Her Marine" and a lot less to do with his identity. If you ask him what he is, he will tell you he's a Marine. He's proud of that and I am proud of him. But..

For me, he's the boy first.

I fell in love with the boy well before the idea of the USMC had entered his thick skull. I loved a boy that wasn't sure where he was going or what he was doing. He was lost and a little confused, but that didn't matter to me. What mattered was I loved a boy that loved me back with absolutely everything he had in him.

When I think of the boy, I don't think of cammies or high fades. I think of sitting on his legs just to tickle his feet. Watching him with my favorite monsters, G-Lynn and K-Dot. I think of his laugh. The one that he refuses to fake. When he smiles, you know he means it. I think of the kisses that stop me in my tracks. He's not 0500 PT. He's not Dress Blues. He's not duty stations or deployments. He's the boy who just happens to be a Marine, too, and best of all, he's mine.

For you, he may always be "the Marine". That's more than okay. If you ask him, he would probably prefer that over "the boy" any day ;-) but I didn't fall in love with a Marine. I fell in love with a boy who became a Marine.




To:
The Boy

 I loved you when we got married on a post-it. I loved you when we spent countless hours together building us and who we are before I left for TU. I loved you when your ship date changed and I lost you to the Marines. I loved you through every letter I sent and even more through each one I received. I realized just how much I loved you on family day when every feeling came crashing around me when I spotted you and that brother of yours had to keep me on my feet. I have loved you through every fight, argument, and death match we have worked through.

I love you because of you. We may not have it easy some days, but we have so little to worry about in comparison with some. I have loved watching the changes take place in you. You aren't the same boy I fell in love with. You are very clearly the Marine. You are strong, proud, and confident. But you will always be the boy to me. You will always be the one that brightens my day and brings a smile to my face. Marine or no marine, I have loved you from the start and I thank God for everyday I have with you. In case you missed it earlier, I love you.