My Future with Caroline

I've decided what I am going to do when I get out of the Navy. Yes, after four years of college and years of traveling the world with the Navy, I'll finally be ready to settle down. Caroline helped me decide where and how to live up to my potential today, during our 3 hour phone conversation. It was the highlight of my day. We decided to open up a surf shop. And uhh, no we don't know anything about surfing. Caro has taken it upon herself to run the cash register because that is what she knows best. She's going to grow dreds and I am going to give surf lessons. She's making me do the surf lessons because she says, "I have the surfer body." Great. Thanks Caroline, I might have been better at the cash register. Anyways, don't worry about us not knowing how to surf. I've learned to not sweat the small stuff these days. We'll figure it out as we go.

We are going to have a quaint little cottage to share. We don't want anything nice or fancy! We want a space that is small and homey. A kitchen for sure is a necessity. We're going to be vegetarians, and Caroline is going to run the garden in our backyard. She listed off all sorts of vegetables on the phone. I can't remember which ones. We'll have wild flowers in the front yard and herbs in our windowsills. At the rate were going, it seems that both of us will be single forever. We might as well grow a little older together, while were waiting for a miracle to happen!

Caroline will sell pottery on the side because that is where her true passions and desires reside. Neither of us want to join the real world. She doesn't want to teach and I don't want to be a dietitian. I think I'd be miserable. I've taken it upon myself to write as much as possible, because when I write I feel as close to myself as possible. What was I thinking majoring in nutrition, when writing is what I have enjoyed after all these years? Also, I'll be making handmade jewelry to sell. I'm not sure how we decided on this, as I know nothing of handmade jewelry either. I'm thinking lots of turquoise, though.



We decided to get a pet dog because I'm allergic to cats and Caroline doesn't want to clean out a fish tank. She also said, "turtles were boring." She wanted a parrot, but I told her "they were obnoxious." So, a dog we will have. When deciding on a name for our surf shop/ jewelry/ pottery store, nothing sounded right. We tried beads and pots. Bowls and beads. Unique beads. All sounded ridiculous and a bit misleading. We decided that we would wear long skirts and toe rings. My curls will be beachy and my toes barefoot with a cute toe ring on. There will be a drink in our hands, all day and we will smell of salt and sand.

But don't try and find us, because we have plans to take off and see the world. We'll find love in Bali, and peace in India. We'll be happily fattened up wherever we go, because foods will be a top priority. We will never leave each other and carry only what will fit in a backpack. And when we get tired, we'll find a coffee shop, to prop up our legs and kick back. What do you think? It doesn't make sense that either of us were born in this decade when we so easily stand out. We are so very different from all of our friends. She hula hoops her days away, and I dream of reading and writing for all eternity. The end.
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Oh, I miss Caroline so much. It's a wonder how were going to make it through deployment. She read her senior letter to me on the phone today, a bit tipsy. I'm surprised she made it through without crying. I will say she lost her place while reading numerous times. Of all the people in the world who truly understand me, she is one of the few. We have shared so many memories over the years. Of the ones I cherish, most are truly simple, like laying in her bed drinking wine, or drinking coffee in the mornings.

Above is a picture of us at Watermelon Bust doing the watermelon wheel barrel challenge. A challenge it was! We practiced prior to the field day in the Phi Mu house. Here we are on the second floor. Imagine the two of us. Her holding my feet and me pushing the watermelon with my nose. I think our sisters yelled at us because we were making too much noise laughing. On the actual field day game. We did not win. Caroline was laughing too hard and couldn't hold me up. She didn't drop me but I was close. I can't look at that picture and not laugh out loud.

The other picture is from our canoe slalom endeavor. We took it upon ourselves one year to enter into a canoe race. And umm no, we knew nothing about canoeing. I'd never even heard the word slalom before! Have you? How hard can it be right? Well, for one it poured down rain that morning. And two, we know nothing about canoeing. A canoe slalom is much harder than a canoe race. We had no idea we'd be doing turns and circles instead of just canoeing in a straight line. We finished the race. We didn't win by any means, but we finished and I was so proud of us afterwards!



I cannot wait to see her beautiful face when I take leave next year! Just think, I'll have even more ridiculous stories of us doing silly things to write about, by the time we see each other again. So until then, I keep you close in my heart and carry you with me always, Caro. We may be miles apart but no miles can separate the love I have for you. :)