"it is much longer than one evening, sir."
"how is that?"
"our minutes are longer than yours."
so said a movie jon and i watched last night (which i highly recommend, by the way). the movie is called joyeux noel (merry christmas) (you'll need to click "english version"), which is about the famous christmas eve fraternizations that took place in 1914 on the battlefields of WWI. in this movie, which was a compilation of many testimonies from the actual event, soldiers from france, scotland, and germany all declared a truce on christmas eve for the purpose of gathering together to celebrate the holiday. the whole thing started because a chaplain from scotland pulled out his bagpipes to lift the spirits of his men. the sound carried to the other camps, and soon, everyone was singing along. it gave me an even greater appreciation for the work of my husband.
back to the introductory line...
it is so true. jon and i have often talked about the differing definition of normalcy held by military families. moving every three years is normal. having to stop at the guarded gate upon entering your "city" is normal. spending time apart is normal. cherishing every moment together more than other couples could probably imagine is normal.
it might be different, but it's not bad. yeah, normal looks different to us... but that's ok. i'm not saying there aren't down-sides - there definitely are (ie- the aforementioned time apart)- but you know what? our minutes are longer. our time together is precious.
and i wouldn't trade that for anything.
3 comments:
Hmmmm....very interesting. Good post. Anyway this is Derrick Howry. If you remember me it has been so long!!! Anywho, I just joined this specific blog and somehow I ran across your parents blog. Interesting. And from there I ran into yours! So how are you sara. How's life treating you. Anyway, Ill make this short, I just thought I would say hi...so hello old friend. Have a great day!
Wow. I love that story. :) I tell it sometimes like I was really there.
Do you know what I also love? The fact that "My deliverer is coming..." (wink, wink). :)
Oh, Sara. I miss you.
Sara, I just watched Jonathan's Iraq video on gentlewhisper.com. My husband just returned from there. He said that his brigade replaced your husband's.
It was a very tough year for our brigade. We lost 55 soldiers--so, yes, I too am thankful that our husbands are home this year.
I loved your writing on "normal." So true!
I hope you're wrapping up your school year without too much stress. I used to teach high school, so I remember the days!
Merry Christmas!
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