Gems in Emails

"ahh i love you Elise, i am sorry if i don't say it enough but you my dear are so strong. like seriously i know how hard it has been these last some odd months but you are seriously the strongest out there. and i appreciate every little bit of you, every stinking darn letter and stinking darn smile you give me, all the support in the world from you, all the love through every email and each and every positive thing that has come out of your mouth. you've made this mission a little lighter for me with all of your love and support...but seriously i appreciate you so much"

Mother's Day is for lovers (part two): things that can happen in one year

Shake the hand of the boy you love in the middle of an airport--no longer attempting to stop the tears because some things are easier if you let yourself flood

Spend a lot of time in bed, probably more than necessary 

Turn 18 years old and cry at the surprise party your mom decided to plan for you (sounds more dramatic than it was.) The only person you really wanted to be there was Aaron.

Learn how to express yourself in letters: holding onto the humor and hilarity 

Graduate from high school, wear the gown, throw the cap and finally experience that reflective nostalgia you never thought would come

Develop your summer skin: sun-burnt and freckled

Wonder why you haven't spent the majority of your life at the lake 

Miss him in the summer as he reaches his six month mark

Address countless packages with countless postage

Find it impossible to part with the summer. Goodbyes feel frequent

Drag your feet as your first year at a university begins

Find a quiet peace in feeling anonymous among the thousands
Get caught up in the bustle that winter initially brings, but then
Remember that winter is miserable without a hot-blooded someone
Miss him more and more; at least the first twelve are over
Turn 19 and can't stop singing the last few lines of Soco Amaretto Lime, "they're just jealous 'cause we're young and in love"
Constantly strive to understand what they meant when they wrote: alls we really want to do is the thing we do, heads down and leaned into the squall
Write a compilation of letters from a sea-weary sailor to his significant anyone
Finish the first entire year of college and when people ask you how you feel, reply: "shaking off the shackles; finally liberated"
Wait for the Mother's Day call from your baby.