KMF🫂

I’m very big on trust. If you earn my trust, you can have my world. So I enlisted in the US Army, and my girlfriend (now wife) had full access to my bank accounts. At the time, she was a postgraduate student, earning stipend from the university. I went off to 12 weeks of Basic Training, meaning, no phone, no outside contact, nothing. Before leaving, I set up all my bills and gave her access to my bank apps. Car loan, rent, phone bills, everything. My three months’ salary was paid into the account. This amazing woman handled it all. She kept an Excel sheet tracking every dollar that came in and went out. She planned our entire wedding by herself and didn’t go overboard on spending, not even once. Since then, we’ve operated a single joint account. Six years later, we’ve never had a reason to change it, and monthly, we still get a Google spreadsheet tracking every dollar. Our only line of communication during training was letters exchanged at night roll call if the Drill Sergeant was in a good mood. Sometimes we got 5–10 minutes of phone time on Saturdays. For three months, letters were all we had. We got good at writing them, learning to say what mattered and read between the lines of what the other was really feeling. You can compromise on everything, but do not compromise on someone loving you.