Chapter one.

So "Chapter One" of our life is coming to a close... Swiss moves from his ROTC post this Monday and we will be ending our dating/engaged life in a matter of weeks. The PCS is looming, as is the deployment. Life is changing... big time.

As I reminisce I can't get over how much has changed, with me, with Swiss, with our relationship and our lives in the last year plus.

Just over 14 months ago I has just bought my first house. I was happy, if not a little lonely... but I had my job, my friends, my hobbies... I was doing pretty good for myself. And then I met Swiss on a whim. After a few little speed-bumps we went on our first date July 24th. And I knew. I knew that was the last first date I would ever go on. I knew that he was exactly the man I described to my best friend Beth when she asked me EXACTLY what kind of guy I was looking for. I was looking for Swiss.

And here we are... with a bounty of changes on our horizon. We will be Mr. & Mrs. Swiss in just a few short weeks. We will have a whole month of being "normal" (by that I mean actually living in the same state, zip code, and home) together. We have a PCS in a matter of weeks and more than likely a trip to the Sandbox in the next few month. Both of which I am dreading... not just because it means a deployment, but because it means so much time away from Swiss. I hate time away from him. He makes me feel whole... feeling not-whole isn't much fun.

But as I look back on this past year (plus) I am always in awe of the joy, the happiness I have found, we have found. I am blown away by the changes and unexpected events that have come our way. I am proud of the challenges we have overcome. I am comforted and elated by the contentment, the respect, the friendship and the love we share.

So here is to Chapter One. You were great. You were bursting with surprises, you were stocked with fun and memories, and you were full of firsts.

You were the beginning of the rest of our lives.