I posted this on Facebook the day Jonny left for Annual Training at Camp Ripley...but I figured having two posts on blogspot in one day would be too much (ha!) so I'm posting it now.
Enjoy :)
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I'm handling today better than I thought. And you're not going to believe what I'm about to tell you. 1. I haven't cried today...though I'm convinced an angel or two did, because it was raining in Minnesota ;) and 2. Jonny called me this morning to tell me he was having an "emotional moment" when he realized he was leaving me behind this morning. Granted, my wording may be off a bit (it was 5:45 am, and I was slightly-less than alert), but it's pretty close. I love him. I'm proud of him. He's my living, walking, breathing hero. My Superman in Camo...and I couldn't be happier to call him mine :) I'm thankful for him and the sacrifices he's making, not only for me, but for total strangers. He's pretty remarkable.
Technically, my thankfulness post can end here...but it's not going to. Because, I'm not only thankful for Jonny, but for all the other wonderful people in my life. I'm thankful for everyone who remembered that Jonny was leaving for Ripley today, and for all of those people who squeezed a little harder when they hugged me today. I'm thankful that Jonny's mama told me I'm considered "part of the family"...(Jonny keep breathing! Ha)...because being closer to them makes me feel closer to him. And I'm thankful for a little boy in a hospital play room and the conversation we had on Monday.
I don't know his name. I don't know how old he is...or where he's from...or why he was in the hospital that day. What I do know...is that he touched my heart that afternoon amid a table of tissue paper butterflies. That was the craft project of the day. I already went through a bunch of kids, and this particular munchkin came in as I was getting ready to clean up and call it a day. There's no way he'll want to make butterflies.
Ha. Or so I thought.
He sat down, and not only wanted to make one, but several. He wanted to give one to his mom, and sister, and...me. (Please let the record show that he wanted to make mine second ;) ha). Anyway...we make his butterfly first...then...we make one for me. Now that we have two butterflies, he decided it was time to play with them. So...after he made them kiss (no joke), he made them fly. As I'm spinning around in circles in the craft room making my butterfly fly and soar...he makes his butterfly do a swan dive and crash to the floor. He then instructed me that it was my butterfly's job to rehab him...and take him to the butterfly hospital, to give him butterfly food and butterfly bandaids. And then he asked me..."Do you think butterflies can fly to heaven?"
I froze for a second...what do you say to someone else's kid in the hospital when he's asking a question about religion? Uhhh...and then it hit me. "I don't know. But if they can...do you think we should send a wish up?" His eyes lit up.
"Yeahhhhh!"
"What are you going to wish for?"
"For my butterfly to get better. What are you going to wish for?"
I sat still for a moment...leaned in close and said, "The exact same thing."
You couldn't put a price tag on that smile. "But...I already wished for that," he said. "So, you should pick something else."
"Hmmm....I'm going to have to think about that one peanut."
But that wasn't exactly true. Because I know exactly what I'd wish for. I wish the next year goes by like a flash of lightning. I wish for a convoy route free of IEDs. I wish he comes home without a scratch on him...and most importantly I wish for him to come home to me.
I wish for a world without war...and a love that stands the test of time.
And if that happens, I'll be thankful for that.
Now if only that tissue paper butterfly could actually fly...we'd be all set ;)
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