Hello love,

I miss you. But that shouldn't be a surprise because I miss you every second of every day that we're not together. Some may say it's silly, but they just don't get it.

We didn't start out as long distance. In fact, I wasn't even looking to date anyone at the time. You came into my life when I wasn't expecting you to and completely turned my world around. I had never met anyone like you before. I had never felt so special and so loved in my entire life. We spent every day together until you had to leave, and each of those days are forever engrained in my memory. Not because anything out of the ordinary happened, but because I was truly present in every moment. We took so many trips; adventured so many different parts of the state together and created this bond that was strong, no distance could harm it. Now, we have so many memories to look back on.

Since you left, it's been a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Our circumstances are a little different from most because you're in the military. We got cut off cold turkey when you left for bootcamp. The mailman even started to notice me sitting outside on the porch every Friday afternoon, practically stalking him, because I knew your letters usually came in that day. As hard as those three months were, I am so thankful we had that time to write each other and communicate in such a foreign way our generation is not used to. I still read them from time to time just to remind me that there is such a raw and undeniable love that the two of us share. Some days it's too easy to get wrapped up in the standards that society has claimed; that you need talk to each other every second of every day. But those letters are a simple reminder of the bigger picture.

At one point we were on complete opposite sides of the country learning how to deal with a time difference, which was another obstacle, but we overcame it. And despite the obvious struggles, we made it work. I even took a trip out there just to break up the distance and time because the thought of passing up an opportunity to continue to explore different places with you seemed too crazy not to take. It's all about give or take.

It's always an adjustment when you go from one place to the next. And it hasn't always been butterflies and daisies. We struggle sometimes. We get frustrated. We get emotional. We shut down. But it's how we handle those times that matter the most to me. We never give up on each other.

A huge motivation is the fact that things won't always be this way. I won't always have to say goodbye to you for days, weeks, or months at a time. One day we'll be right where we belong. Together. You'll always be worth it to me. I'll always wait for you and I love you more than anything.

To the moon and back,

Your girlfriend