daffodil darlings.

Happy Wednesday! This week is flying by, but I'm not complaining ;) I have another sweet and inspiring story in my {distance makes the heart grow fonder} series for you today. Kevin and Kate {from Daffodil's} dated long distance from day one of their relationship--and even lived their first year and a half of married life apart. I'm amazed at the sacrifices they have made and am so honored to share their story...

Name: Kate

Significant Other's Name: Kevin

When did you start dating? February 2006

At what point did you begin dating long distance? From the start! Even though we grew up in the same town, Kevin was a few years older than me and we didn’t meet until I was in high school and he was at West Point. We were casual friends for a few years, but we started emailing a lot when he was deployed in Iraq in 2005. When he got home, we immediately began dating, while I was in DC and he was in Savannah. We were engaged within six months and married seven months later. Kevin then deployed again, separating us for almost 15 months. If you do the math, we were married almost a year and a half before our long distance ended.

How did you fill your days while you're apart? At the time, I was a high school English teacher, which kept me pretty busy. When I wasn’t lesson planning, I was taking our dog to the park, hanging out with friends, and counting my blessing that my family was nearby. I was also waiting by the phone and constantly checking my email, hoping to hear from Kevin. His days were busy in a different way, but he looked forward to that little bit of down time to write me a quick note or to have a turn on the phone.

What did you find most difficult about being long distance? It was so difficult to not be a part of each other’s everyday lives. While we were dating, I was just constantly waiting for the next time I would be able to see him. Once we were married and he was deployed, I hated coming home from work and being by myself all the time. It was very hard to be the single yet married lady. I also feared for his safety and would be on edge until I heard from him.

How has long distance changed your relationship? It made us so strong! Before we got married, we saw each other every two to three weekends. Aside from one week-long trip to the beach, we never spent more than a handful of days in a row together, but we were certain we was meant to be. Because so much of our relationship was based solely on conversation, we know each other much better than we would have if we were in the same place. With two years in Iraq now in our rearview mirror, we know we can get through anything tough that comes our way.

What do you enjoy most about the time you have together? We just love being together. I love that Kevin is the first and last person I talk to every day. I love that I can talk to him anytime I want (and no longer have to wait for a phone call or an email).

What sacrifices have you made in order to make things work? Because I was only 23 when we got married, my friends were in a completely different life stage, which was difficult. I felt like no one really knew what I was going through especially because I was not living in a military community. My husband put his life on the line for two years to help protect us at home. We were both willing to sacrifice a normal dating life in order to commit to each other.

How has your life changed now that you're back in the same place? So much has changed since those years apart! We moved twice (from DC to North Carolina and then NC to California) and we now have two children (Cullen, almost 3 and Bennett, 10 months). I think if you told me in 2008 if I would be a mother of two and living in Monterey, I would have thought you were crazy. We thought our military life would end shortly after Kevin’s last deployment, but he answered the call to continue to serve and I am proud of him for that. Luckily, we have not had to deal with any long deployments since our boys have been born, but because we know there is always a chance he could deploy again, we never take a day for granted and make sure we make the most out of our time together.

Truly and honestly, military spouses are some of the most admirable people on this earth. Please give Kate your love today...she certainly deserves it for sharing her husband with us, as he serves our country. If you're long distance, I hope these stories keep you encouraged :) see you back here tomorrow!

P.S. Congrats to Danielle and Alaina on the launch of their brainchild, The Everygirl. Amazing work, ladies :)