I married my Lance Corporal at 30. For the military supporters that aren’t quite sure what rank that is, it’s right after boot camp. Yes my amazing, incredible, wonderful husband is 10 years younger than me. I want to share my story because I want to show how fast judgement can be passed without any knowledge of who they are, where they have been and God-forbid where they are in the moment. I mean at my age I must be an officer’s wife right?
At 30, I had no interest in being a wife, much less a military wife– and even less to a man ten years my junior. I had a big title, worked on Capitol Hill, awesome car, career woman for life! As it often happens, I didn’t have a choice in the matter. The DAY of my 30th birthday, my husband’s orders put his toes on the ground at 8th and I Marine Barracks Washington, which just happened to be across the street from where I worked. I had been single only two weeks and was having a cocktail with a friend of mine to discuss all things awful that were men when he walked up to us with a huge smile on his face.
“Bet you’re wondering why my shirt is tucked in,” he asked.
Oh this poor thing, I thought to myself. I am about to destroy him. I looked him square in the eye and said, “Honey, your shirt is tucked in because you’re twelve and your mom probably didn’t let you leave the house until it was. Do you have any idea how old I am to be coming up to me off the street like this?”
While I thought I was setting him up to shew him away (regardless of how gorgeous I thought he was) he responded with a smile that would have melt Olaf, “No, my shirt is tucked in because its Marine Corps order, I’m not 12 I just turned 21 and if I were to guess your age I would say… 24, 25?” I almost spit out my wine… SWEET? He’s SWEET? Now I have had a lot of tactics before but genuinely sweet? Well….even I wasn’t equipped for that! With that beautiful face he asked if he could sit down and my friend kicked me under the table and said, “You are so screwed.”
Seven months later we were married.
