Letter to My Sailor

by Tanya Hawley Hill

I met you first, the uniform second

I looked into your eyes and didn't see - the walk down the aisle, the deployments, the sleepless nights with the baby all alone

I fell in love with your smile, the warmth of your heart, and the safety of your arms

But I didn't know the fear I'd feel when you'd walk out the door and smile good-bye

Will you come back to me?

Will you be the same man when you do

You proposed to me, and I said yes

For a split second - I envisioned a normal life, always staying in the same town and raising our children

And I realized that I am also saying yes to a  lifetime of deployments, uprooting and moving to your next posting destination

Leaving friends and family behind, but making friends that last a lifetime along the way

I accepted the challenge and embraced it

I walked down the aisle and married the uniform first and you second, because I knew that was the way it had to be

I vowed - richer or poorer, sickness and health, better or worse... knowing all those times would lay ahead

I vowed to be understanding and accepting of the sacrifices that we both would have to make

That our family would have to make

I believe that the love that we share WILL withstand time and distance

The sweetest thing I've ever experienced, your smiling face next to me in the morning

The sweetest thing I ever will experience, I believe, will be the feeling of your arms around me when you come home.

The uncertainty, the love, the lifestyle, the commitment

I wouldn't trade it for anything

I love my sailor