Autumn Reflections

From Guardian's Desk

Hello once again,





It has been a long time since I've logged in and wrote a post, and today a funny thing happened.  As the leaves were falling, and as the rain pattered against the window, I realized just how blessed our family has been in the past year.  As you may well know, I finally left military service in late May, since then I've had some time to forge and strengthen the bonds of love and family.





The children are growing right before our eyes. We're all healthier and happier, and we find ourselves so thankful for the bounty of blessings that we find ourselves with.  We laugh more, play as a family more, and find ourselves richer in life and spirit than in the previous 12 months.... I guess what they say is true... What a difference a year makes.  

 My ChinaDoll has been the biggest reason for so much of our success. She was there for me even when things looked blackest.  For those of you who have close family in the Military, I don't need to tell you about the stress, the nights awake, the fears or the insecurities. To add to this, I was also dealing with a very long commute home during the weekends.  I am not embarrassed to admit that fatigue was a serious issue for both of us during this time... The only thing that I am ashamed of, is that I couldn't always give my family 100 percent of me during that time. I would come home Friday night (Thursday if I was lucky) and I'd be back on the road to Norfolk at 0300 come Monday morning.  Through it all my darling China and my beautiful boys gave me a reason to keep  my head up, my shoulder down and keep pushing to the finish line. Through it all she gave me the grace to lead our family and support me even when things were unbearable.









I'm no expert, but I believe our relationship is stronger now than it ever has been. Gone are the days of trying to compress a week of family life into two days, and even now I can't stand to be away from home for too long a period of time. Our version of love, life and DD seems to feed us both in immeasurable ways.  She gives me the grace to lead, the room to learn from my mistakes, and her support and confidence in all things.  I give her the freedom to be submissive, the care and loving strength born of true love and my unfailing, unwavering commitment to her and our family.  We learned so much these past few months and I feel so privileged to have been a part of it all.  I would personally like to extend a thank you to everyone who thought of us, prayed for us, and shared with us during the past year, your support has been a wonderful boon to us and our family.

 So where do we go from here?  The year is coming to a rapid end, the holiday season is right around the corner. Things are bustling and busy in our home. I am looking for work, The kids are excelling in school and our family is in a very good place right now.  I would also like to end the drought of posts here by not only posting this post, but by committing to  more regular postings. Thank you so much for your support, I look forward to writing again.

~ Her Guardian

 China Doll's Musings

 I must apologize for being gone so long, and for not answering the comments on the last post. We kind of slipped under the radar and soaked each other in. Living a family life on weekends only is a whole different ballgame. It takes a lot of getting used to, and a lot of decompression to come back from. We've been seeking equilibrium. I don't know if we're completely there, but we're solidly on the path and committed to the journey. It may be that it comes piece by piece, event by event, little individual healings, filling in the gap.

This is the first time on our history as a family that Daddy gets to accompany us to the Halloween festivities at the church. We've been together four years. He has bought the costumes, and helped with decorations. This is the first year he gets to come and see the children enjoy those things 'live', and not in pictures. This will be our first Thanksgiving and Christmas that he has not either been deployed or had to leave the day after.

As for grace, well I am just me, you've heard me say that many times before. I am sure that I receive more than I gift...and yes, I've been told I underestimate myself. All I can do is try, and try to understand how he sees my contributions to our family. Together, we are inimitable. There has been a tremendous blossoming on our children, and they are very much a reflection of us. It takes my breath away as much as the love I receive on a daily basis.



We are slowly emerging from our cocoons. Daddy wants to integrate blogging into our Monday (one of my days off). So we will see you again very soon!

<3
cd