M&M Holzmann

In the words of Joey Russo, from Blossom, “Whoa!”

Every day, I fall more in love.  Every day, she develops.  Every day, I wonder if she can wrap me any further around her finger.  And, every day, she does.

Today, we received a letter from my commanding officer.  While I’m sure it’s the same letter every other father in our unit receives, it was still special.  As I read the letter aloud to Maira, I was brought to tears by the weight of the message.  The letter was addressed to our daughter, and it expressed a sense of import regarding our mission as Marines, the role I play in our unit, and feeling of loss every deploying parent  feels during our times away from home and family.

Reading that letter was sobering.  The thought of Sequoia reading that dispatch some 18 years from now, when she goes off to college, was profound.  It made my role in the Marine Corps feel substantial, my role as a servicemember feel essential, and my role as father feel incredibly weighty.  All of which, I feel duty-bound to meet and exceed expectations.