A Day in the Life of a Marine’s Girlfriend: How do You Handle not Living in the Same Country?

He asked me to be his girlfriend on June 2012, I’m a PHD student in Europe and he is a Warrant Officer at the US Marines in the United States. He is American, I’m from the Caribbean, actually separated by 4000 miles. He is not currently deployed but at training school.

My bf and I are separated by 6 time zones making our communication a bit more difficult and demanding from us more commitment to make things work. I sleep with my cell phone next to my pillow, on my bed (the fact that I could let my cell die is out of the question) therefore…

My morning begins with me checking on my cell phone. I have no need to do so since my Marine is on Field Training. During this training they are taken to the field to practice maneuvers meaning for me: no communication. Anyways, it doesn’t matter he can’t text me, he took his cell phone with him and will text me (with picture included) once a day. It is always short, “miss you and love you” or “love you”…I don’t even have the chance to answer him back when he is already gone.

“Good morning baby” my first text. I have to admit that after checking on my cell and seeing I had not text I failed to immediately text him after waking up. I began my day doing my exercises, went to the bank and did some study. I text him every time I change activities, letting him know what I’m doing next just in case he can sneak out his cell phone at night haha; I guess it will be a good feeling to know what I’m up to, making him feel part of my day.

During the afternoon I would normally get a call from him (by his lunch time/ my 1800) and we would talk for 30 minutes while he cooks and eats, before his next class. We talk about things happening to me, I talk talk talk without stop. Sometimes he talks haha if he had an exam or some interesting class. I don’t get those calls during field training so my activities consist in checking on my phone settings: vibrate X loud X signal available X

Nights are a bit more complicated; I have to wrap my things up, any homework or errands have to be done by my 2300 since he is normally out by that time. That is when I’m lucky, if not, things can get delayed up to my 0100; I’m not very happy when that happens now that I decided I needed to push harder on my PHD and get more active to have a great body when I get to see him! (I began an exercise training). I have to go to bed on a certain hour to be able to wake up in a decent hour, and that goes to crap when I have to stay up late. This is the longest talk time we have; he calls me right away after his classes are done so again I see him eating, this time his dinner. Normally soup or any other precooked meal. The chow hall (cafeteria) is closed by the time he is out and he has no stove in his room but a microwave.

There was no point on waiting a call, I wont see him until the end of the week, he will be out 5 complete days. Finally, while I was reading my “South Beach Diet book he texted me: “love you and miss you” with a picture of him sitting on the floor with his cammies and his face with makeup (or some sort of brown and green stuff they put on their faces when they go to the field haha). He looked so sooo handsome on that picture, not tired but maybe bored.

One of the most difficult things for me is being apart while apart, if you know what I mean. Not being there when he comes back from work, not being able to share a meal, not being able to be there physically, because I’m always with him.

Anyways, Marine’s gf graduation: getting to hug him while he is back from field training. Funny note: they don’t shower during the whole training :s

Graduation ceremony: TBD
Honey