“Do you understand that Papa is going away soon?” “I don’t think I understand.” “He is going away for a very long time to a place called _______. He is going with the army for many months.” “I don’t think I know where _______ is. Will he take an airplane?” “He will. A great big airplane. […]
Road To War
I sat on the bottom step last evening, light drifting dimly and children in bed, stifling my giggles. Justine, eyes flashing, a true friend, spouted the military frustrations we both feel in a way that made the pressure lift off of my chest. We’re not alone in this, I remembered. We rarely are truly alone. […]
In Which It All Gleams A Little Brighter
I realized earlier this week that my current angst over our military life feels eerily similar to an angst I once felt about motherhood. A disquiet, a grappling with the bull by the horns. Or a wrestle with an angel, if you will. There was a point, two years and two children into the mothering […]
This Is a Hard Teaching, Who Can Accept It?
It isn’t always noon when I get dressed, but today it is. When I’m on top of my game, I’m dressed before I make breakfast, or even better, before I leave our room. But today any clothes I might wear are buried beneath twelve loads of washed and unwashed laundry, on the other side and […]
Down Range
He who dwells in the Shelter of the Most High shall abide in the Shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1 When the word comes that this husband of mine will be needed Down Range, I take another bite. Sip another drink. Wipe another face. Rinse another dish. And I think, this is how I’ll do […]
Of Mercy New
“I come home and all I’ve done is peck the man on his lips as we pass in the driveway, and this after four days and nights of him away. I come home and I’m full of words and tears and need for HIM, but he’s tired and he falls asleep. We lay there, and […]
When He’s Gone
I’m not sure how the space can feel so silent when around me five children are all the noise that five children can make. But he’s gone, that man I married, traipsing another continent without internet or phone, and I’m alone. It’s only two weeks, and only the first of many weeks to come, […]