“Despite the distance, our family will remain strong throughout all life’s ups and downs.”

Meet Kayleigh…possibly one of the sweetest humans I have ever met. Kayleigh found me through Instagram and I photographed “just because” images of her and her husband, John. Since then a beautiful friendship that includes puppy love, gumbo, and long talks has ensued! She is a fur momma to two beautiful adopted babies, Delilah and Nugget. When I first asked Kayleigh to participate in Despite the Distance, she told me that she and John were boring and hadn’t had any crazy Marine Corps experiences. I knew there was no way this is true because even the tamest Marine Corps lives are different than civilian lives.

The first unique thing about Kayleigh and John is how they met…she answered this question with a coy smile and a long pause at first! Tindr was the start to their relationship, and it was love at first sight. Once they met on their first date, they were inseparable and married six months later. Seriously, when you see these two together, you know they are meant to be together. They initially got married at the Justice of the Peace then celebrated with a ceremony with family two months afterward.

The second unique experience was the tragedy her family endured shortly before she and John received orders to Camp Lejeune. A flood hit her parents’ home and was inundated with 52 inches of water, leaving few surviving belongings. Despite wanting so badly to stay and help her parents repair, she was forced to move states away to North Carolina. This made the move away from family even more difficult. Not only was she leaving family behind, but all of her childhood belongings were washed away or destroyed in the flood. It was truly like starting over, whether she liked it or not. Since then, her family has rebuilt the home in Louisiana and also built their forever home in Georgia after giving 32 years to the Coast Guard.

When she lived in Louisiana, she worked at a local branch of Navy Federal. She was so blessed to be able to transfer that job to Jacksonville. If you ever have any banking questions, contact Kayleigh…she has helped me so much in just the short time we’ve known each other! She continues to work full-time at Navy Fed and manages to maintain a small Scentsy business and run her immaculate household.

The biggest difference between military and civilian life for Kayleigh is the amount (or lack thereof) of control. We are subjected to the Marine Corp’s timeline, as opposed to the timeline that we have set out for ourselves. One sweet tradition they have started (that I may adopt to!) is that on the morning after he has duty, she makes a big breakfast for him so he can enjoy it and then take a nap to recuperate from being awake for 24 hours.

Kayleigh always sees the silver linings on any gray clouds they encounter, and their experience has been anything but boring!