Ceremonial Guard

My partner, Cort, joined the Navy this past May.  A decision that we talked about for a couple of years became a reality, and when people ask I tell them it was a decision we made together.   It does add some difficulty to be a perfect "military spouse" when the military itself does not recognize our relationship.  

The relationship between distance and desire is something we talk about a lot.  This a quote I like.  I don't know where it originates from, so my apologies for not giving proper credit:

"...contrary to what the cynics say, distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold.  It's for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love.  It's for knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don't see it nearly enough..."

But if there are two people in this world that can make it work, it is us.  Boot Camp was eight weeks and I was able to go out for his Graduation Ceremony in Great Lakes, IL.  He was given a special assignment in Washington, D.C. with the Navy Ceremonial Guard that will last for two years, so we are now making the arrangements for me to move out there as well.  We can't live together again because of the current laws, but it will be nice to see him more often -- even if it means weekends. 

He made a surprise trip this past October home to see me (and the rest of his family) and he brought his special Ceremonial Guard Uniform.   We had talked about taking some photographs of him in uniform, but I didn't know it would be so soon!  We traveled to one of our favorite locations in Utah called Saltair, which is located at the south end of the Great Salt Lake.  

Here are a few of my favorite moments:

 

Here are the two of us together.  The second one basically sums up our relationship.  ha!