Thursday, July 23, 2009

Who takes priority?

It was nearly two years ago that Nathan and I sat on our front porch with a bottle of wine discussing our future with the Marine Corps. It was a fall night and we could hear one of the local football games being held in the distance. We were settling into our new role as parents, Mackenzie was only a few months old. I remember looking at Nathan, most likely through teary eyes, asking him how he would make our family a priority if he went back in. I had no concept of military life, but it seemed miserable. He had a great answer, I just can't remember it because I was busy refuting everything he said in my mind. It was during this conversation that I began to feel that anxious, nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach because I knew this was the path we would take. So who does take priority these days? Well, most of the time we do. What I didn't understand that night sitting on the front porch is the amount of pride I would feel towards my husband, the military and our country. While this doesn't make up for the time spent apart, it does make it a little easier. Nathan gives 110% to this family, all the time. There are trips to the pool, trips to the park, trips to the aquarium, trips to the beach, trips to the grocery store. And if the trips weren't enough, there are endless refills of juice, numerous episodes of Dora, books before bed, Hello Kitty bandaids, and the list goes on. I guess he does know what he's talking about every now and then.

Someone please remind me to read this post in a few months when he's gone.

2 comments:

Jacquelyn said...

nicely put! I applaud and admire you both! Love you guys!

Jillian said...

Great post Kel, and great job Nathan! You both are inspiring and amazing parents, Mackenzie is blessed to have you both and you and Nathan are so blessed to have eachother.

I'm so glad everything worked out for you guys and know that the future holds a lot of ups and downs for you both, but also a lot of promise and a lot of love. You guys will get through this next time apart even stronger and better than before!