Life: Taken in or Taken up

This afternoon I heard little footsteps playing on the playground out back. I took a step out onto the porch just in time to hear a little boy’s voice say, “Hey guys, I’m your military dad” meaning that he was pretending to be one of the other little child’s fathers. He then scurries up the stairs to the slide and while he heads to the top says, “Bye, bye.”

This little boy has only known the military life where his military daddy always says, “Bye, bye.” A piece of my heart broke in the second that I heard the little boy’s voice. Wondering how on earth I could be in a part of the United States where families currently consist of a mother and her children while the father is deployed. The child is supported and cared for by the mother while the father reads him a storybook through the webcam or is only able to hear his voice through the broken communication line.

This reminds me of a familial moment I secretly observed yesterday. One swing was occupied by a little girl about four years old who was being pushed by her mother and the swing swaying beside hers was heavy with her uniformed father.

Through this little family I saw that joy can be found in the most simple of places with the hope that lies with each passing moment and it completely changed how I perceived the military family with the absence of a father. Some families have to wait an entire year to feel this joy of a father being around. Realizing today that not only is a husband absent but also a father and I am not just speaking of my situation but of many others who are my dear friends here. Yes, the mother is an enormous force that helps operate on robot mode but only to get from today to tomorrow to the next year. The joy that is experienced is very intimate within each whole family as it may not happen very often.

Witnessing this joy of a four year old having her father and mother right beside her is the furthest thing from all for naught. Seeing the little boy play with his peers in the only way that he is used to, reiterates how important joy is to every family. To this I respond with the giving (rather the government taking) of my husband so your husband can be home in order for your family to experience the joy of actually having a family.

Life is full of people taking up moments, but how many of those moments are taken in? I am asking a favor of you: please take in the moments that sometimes are taken from others. Families are giving their husbands and fathers for your opportunity to experience life.

Love Love