My husband's deployed, I'm in Germany.
I have 2 little girls that I need to make Christmas magical for......I have no family around me, many of my friends are busy welcoming their soldier home, or visiting family. There are soldiers coming home left and right that need a warm smile and welcome home that I help provide at every homecoming ceremony.
How do you keep that smile? How are you happy for others in the season of love when your love and family are no where near you and not on their way?
I keep getting asked 'how are you doing this?'
I'm not a saint, and trust me if you ask my husband jealousy is one of my big downfalls lol. I'd be lying if I said there was no sadness in me, that I didn't wish circumstances could be different. I wish I wasn't alone and trying to be all things at once, but wishing doesn't change what is.
Instead of thinking of all I don't have and what others might have that I don't, I choose to focus on what I do have. There is so much in life that we are not guaranteed. I could have so much less. My life could know so much more pain than it does. When I wake up in the morning there are 2 smiles, hugs and I love yous that greet me. I rarely go to the bathroom alone because I have a dog that loves me so much he won't leave my side.....ever. I have a warm bed, a kitchen full of food, presents under the tree and a bank account that's not in the red. Things could be worse. I could be away from my children, wife and family sleeping in a tent in a war zone for Christmas. I could have to walk around with 60+ pounds of gear on. I could live in a 3rd world country starving and sleeping in a shack. I could be making a visit to Arlington this Christmas to see a soldier I'll never be able to touch again. But I'm not. And for that I owe it to all those that are enduring those circumstances to be grateful. When I look at my life through those lenses not only does it not seem sad or lonely, it seems full of love and abundance.
When I see soldiers come home to their loved ones, that's just what I see.........soldiers coming home, I don't see mine NOT coming home. I see it for what it is, one less blessed soul in a war zone, one more Daddy there to hug his child, one more husband or wife home to hug their spouse, one more son or daughter out of harms way making it so their mother can sleep at night again.
Hearing about sad news and witnessing it makes me sad, so why would happy news and events not make me happy? There is more joy in a homecoming ceremony than I think I have ever experienced anywhere else. Even my daughters who don't really understand why it's not their Daddy and it's someone else's, even they can't help but smile and ask me every morning "Mommy are we going to get to go to another homecoming today?".
That in itself makes my heart swell. Count your blessings and you won't be able to keep the smile off of your face, I promise.
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