You would think exiting the Army would boost a marriage instantly. In some ways, it has. But our relationship has also suffered in all kinds of ways we couldn't have imagined. We have a beautiful life, some really great friends, and three marvelous children. But getting out of the Army exposed all kinds of holes we didn't know were there - that we had missed or overlooked while enduring the stress and chaos that war, deployments, and moves brought on. Those years in the Army were a constant rush - hails, farewells, new friends, goodbyes, deployments, missions, ftxs, some new exciting or awful place around the corner...there was an almost predictable ebb and flow of activity that kept us constantly distracted.
And now here we are. Sometimes feeling less connected than ever, even though we are always within inches, feet, or just a few miles of each other. Weird, right? We get very little real time together. So we hired a babysitter for Saturday. And have spent all week looking forward to it. And last night I finally picked up a piece of paper that had been floating around the girls' room for several days.
Evyn has this incredible visual memory, and these days they take shape on paper. I asked her about this one. "It's you and Daddy holding hands outside," she smiled. I looked at her quizzically. I couldn't remember the last time we'd held hands anywhere. But she insisted - "You and Daddy were outside, and you were holding hands. I remember. I don't remember what day, though."
What a serendipitous, sweetly packaged little gift from God this week.
And Evyn requested I hang it on our door, so we can look at it and enjoy it.
