Happy Birthday to My True Love ~ An Open Letter to Elizabeth from Tommy

Elizabeth & Tommy
March 1, 2013
Spain

To my true love,

Since this is the first time truly expressing my love for you on a public forum, I will try my best to keep it short, sweet, and appropriate.

I thought I had it all figured out at the age of twenty.  I was the cocky kid sitting in the corner with my nicest shirt, a pair of jeans, my favorite shoes, and the world at the tip of my finger.  That was up until the moment you walked in the room.  The first time our eyes met, I saw my past, present, and future.

I realized that my past was irrelevant.  Everyone has made mistakes, had our hearts broken, and broken a few ourselves.  I thought I had done some right things, and I know I had done some things wrong.  But after seeing you for the first time, I would not change any of them since they ultimately lead me to you.  Without the difficult decisions I faced to lead me to that room, on that particular night, I would have never been lucky enough to have you call me your husband.  My past was irrelevant at that point.

I realized that my present was currently facing the wrong direction.  I was in a bad place at a worse time, but that all changed when my eyes met yours.  In an instant, you made me realize that life was meant to be lived for what you have in front of you.  To have the courage to accept the past, and the wisdom to know the best thing that could have ever happened to me was now standing right in front of me.  You showed me a confidence in yourself within the first minute that I truly envied and could not fully comprehend.  You confused me in the way that you held yourself, I knew you were different, special, and I was already in love with you.  You were the one I wanted to spend my life getting to know more  with each day that passes.

My future changed in that very second.  I saw things in your eyes I had never seen before.  I thought I understood what love can do to someone, but up until that point, all that I thought was proved to be one hundred percent incorrect.  I saw visions of you in a wedding dress, holding our children, and growing older and wiser.  All these visions were so vivid, that I knew right then and there what I wanted in life, and that want was you.

Tommy in uniform

I cannot imagine how hard the past bit of time has been on you, and I can guarantee that you are the strongest person that I have ever come across.  I know that I am not an easy person to love, and I also know that I could not do what you do on a daily basis.  You have been my everything since that fateful night that we crossed paths, and I have not looked back since.  Thank you for always being there for me, through the most enjoyable and difficult times for I could not have gotten through them without you by my side.  I love you more than ever and cannot wait to be back home!  Happy Birthday to the love of my life and thank you for allowing me the honor of being called your husband!

With all that I have,
Tommy

Note: Since August 2012 Elizabeth’s husband, Tommy, has been out  in the deep blue sea on a submarine protecting our freedom.  Their phone calls are few and far between.  Last weekend Elizabeth drove from Connecticut to Boston and flew to Spain for a surprise 3-day visit, which just happened to also be their 15th wedding anniversary.  This would be the first time Elizabeth saw Tommy since his departure, as a previously scheduled surprise trip had been planned only to be cancelled at the last minute as the Navy changed their route.  (I hope I have all that information correct.) 

Also, Tommy doesn’t think he can write.  Yeesh, we all think he should become a writer; the words are perfect!