to the boy with the open mouthed grin:

there is coming a day in the very near future when you will don a uniform and a close cropped hair cut that will set you apart from the rest. you will get on a plane, and fly hundreds of miles away from home, not to return for 3 long months (also 90 days, 2,160 hours, 129,600 minutes, 7,776,000 seconds, and well you get the point.) i have a count down going till the time you come home.

no phone calls, no text messages, or IM's or visits. no stories, or grin or laugh. for three months. just letters and pictures of the man you were before you left. my dear boy with the open mouth grin.


i will miss you boy, now and forever, because in april when you return you will be different. i can feel it in my bones, and oh how they ache for you and the family and friends you leave behind. but you must go out there and become"the man you want to be."

this is your future however, is a future you chose for yourself, and because of that i respect you. i will miss you greatly, but you should chase your dreams from here to the stars and back. on one condition. when you get back from this new adventure in the real world, be sure to tell me all about it. i always love the stories you tell the most.

love you bri. keep your goofy grin, and your stories always. and dont forget to write.

love always,

katie