Day 13- 4.5

The future For so long we have been living a day at a time, we haven’t thought much of the future. As most of you know D.H. came back about nine months ago from serving nearly a year in Afghanistan. While he was gone, that was all I could barely do. Take one day at a time. I thank God everyday for bringing him back to us safe. If only things were that easy. It isn’t like he came home and everything went back into place (something every military wife wishes for). I don’t know why so many people think this but they do. D.H came home to some pretty scary medical stuff with our daughter. Another thing I thank God for everyday is that she is okay. Two hospitalizations from malaria (Yes D.H. took all of the medicine) later and a clean bill of health we are on our road to recovery. All of these things take a toll on your life and some days you are just hoping to make it through without incident. Don’t get me wrong; what we have gone through doesn’t have any comparisons to what some families are going through. It’s just part of OUR life.

So on my run today I thought about how we have done nothing but repair our life for the last nine months. And how all of the sudden we are back to making plans for our future. It is such a remarkable place to be. I feel like we are finally moving on from what has been a life altering experience. The most amazing thing is that this deployment that could have broke us has made us so much stronger.  

I often think about a blog that I read and a specific passage that I am going to share with you. I thought a lot about this on my run today too.This might seem a little off base, but I have been wanting to share this with everyone.

“WHAT IF we could all wear a sign that said what WE REALLY MEANT? What if we could go straight past the small talk……..or the masks…….and we could actually go straight to the heart of the matter…….what if our friends and family wore signs like this?”
I think we should just try to imagine it………that when a friend is quiet…or not showing up to stuff she usually shows up to….or acting a little “off”….or a family member is wearing pajamas to the grocery store for weeks on end……or not answering the phone…..or the lawn is not mowed…..
whatever it is……….
IT IS A SIGN. It is not a sign that can be read in words and letters, but it is a sign that someone needs to be treated gently…that they need help….most of all, that they need love, understanding…and that they DEFINITELY DO NOT need to be judged."
(http://bravegirlsclub.com/archives/2151 an amazing blog, you should check it out)

I think sometimes we all need to take a giant step back, and refocus our lives. Also let’s try and be a little more compassionate towards others. You don’t always know what is going on in their lives.  Well over four miles down today and only 352 days to go…………………………….