It seems as though I dance through my days more often than I realize.
A few nights ago, in the middle of angry words and hurt feelings, my husband and I cleaned the kitchen together.
Our little kitchen is barely wide enough for us to stand side by side in;
yet, we somehow stepped around each other without bumping, without being in each other's way.
I unloaded the dishwasher and he scrubbed counters,
and we moved with grace....
but spoke without it.
When the counters were clean and the sink was empty,
I was amazed at how seamlessly we did that...
How could we argue so harshly, so hurtfully;
but clean a kitchen together so well...
Today, when Austin came home from school, the house was fairly clean.
In the time it took us to do homework, eat dinner, and play before bed,
it was all a disaster again.
We had a plan- David would tuck the boys into bed and I'd start cleaning...
The boys had a different plan- they wanted me.
So I stopped cleaning, and tucked them.
David and I danced through the living room picking up toys,
and clearing the dinner table, and returning a stray child to his bed,
and back to the living room to fish trains from underneath the table....
and back to the bed rooms to quiet and comfort little boys...
and back to the kitchen to wipe counters...
and back to the hallway to warn a child to settle under the covers....
And we did this dance in and out of their rooms, into the living room, into the kitchen,
moving around each other, and turning together...
without even really knowing that we're doing it...
But we are.
We're doing this.
Together.
This dancing.
This living.
I hope it lasts forever.


Praying for you to dance together forever too!!
ReplyDeleteIt's always a struggle, reintegrating! Good days and bad days! Hope they get better and better and easier for you.
ReplyDeleteI hope that for you too!
ReplyDeletei am just catching up... reading your homecoming story. my eyes are all teary... and my heart can feel the pain. of the knowing how even in r&r they cannot rest, because they must return... and how much it hurts. and how i know any homecoming, even without day 10, is full of scary anticipation- will he still love me? will he still think i am beautiful? etc, etc. and then the way that we are the safe place, even when daddy is home.
ReplyDeletestay strong. (that doesn't sound fair when you've been so strong so long!) keep breathing, keep dancing. xoxo
Letting it happen is so much more effective than making it happen. Way to go!
ReplyDeleteHoping that too! Heard the new Jason Mraz song. I Won’t Give Up this morning on the way to work and it made me think of your story. My husband just got home before Christmas and the lyrics really spoke to me as well—hang in there.
ReplyDelete