leaving home
Car packed with kids in tow. Saying goodbye to Clarksville, TN wasn't as difficult as I anticipated. As we cruised down Wilma Rudolph Blvd towards the interstate, I realized that I had no particular attachment to the place. We had already said goodbye to the Cumberland River a few nights earlier. It was the perfect time of day, the sun's pinkish light illuminating the mist rising off the river. We stood with arms raised in front of the CLARKSVILLE sign, as if paying tribute to the city that had been our home for two years.
The hardest part of saying goodbye was to the few friends we had made during our short stay. Liesl and I had been bunk mates at a teen camp when we were only fourteen. Being a military spouse, I rarely have friends who have known me for more than a few years. It was the first time we lived close enough to see one another more than once in five years. Liesl and I seem to walk on parallel paths, emotionally and spiritually. I know we will always be close, even if we don't see each other for years at a time.
I met Trever and Randy at my old church, Crossroads Fellowship. They led our small group and patiently welcomed me in when I would come with tears, anger and needing comfort during Steve's deployment. Trever was not easy to get to know at first- she is quiet but has deep love and much wisdom.
In every place we live, there is one friend that I get to know at the very end of our time. I had known Sherry earlier, but the friendship did not kick off until spring this year. Our sons, Nathan and Nathanael, were friends and as we brought them together for play dates, we talked over chips and homemade guacamole. Sherry makes me laugh. I wish I had more time to get to know her.
My relationship with Deborah, my sister-in-law, had the most ups and downs at first, but I have come to love her more deeply since we've had the experience of living together for eight months. She came to live with us in January 2006 while Steve was deployed in Iraq. She's since then moved into her own apartment in Clarksville and I will greatly miss our girl's nights out together. Nathanael and Lydie had the blessing of having family live so close, an oddity in a military life.
Ayame and I had met at a PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) meeting on post. We were both new. She was from California and had a cool name. Neither of us returned to PWOC, but our friendship continued. We walked together through the painful season of our husband's deployment. It is rare to find a friend with whom you can both laugh and cry with. We spent a week with Ayame and her three kids Elise, Thayne and Ryan in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. Ayame and I never ran out of things to talk about. And we were still talking even after spending seven days together. That says a lot. Our kids played morning to night, putting on talent shows and swimming in the pool. We stayed with Ayame during our last few days and I had to literally force my legs to get me into the car when we said goodbye. She is like a sister to me.
"Bye Clarksville!" we yelled as we turned onto I-24, only eight hours from our next destination- Augusta, Georgia. It always helps to leave when you know where you're going to next.
The hardest part of saying goodbye was to the few friends we had made during our short stay. Liesl and I had been bunk mates at a teen camp when we were only fourteen. Being a military spouse, I rarely have friends who have known me for more than a few years. It was the first time we lived close enough to see one another more than once in five years. Liesl and I seem to walk on parallel paths, emotionally and spiritually. I know we will always be close, even if we don't see each other for years at a time.
I met Trever and Randy at my old church, Crossroads Fellowship. They led our small group and patiently welcomed me in when I would come with tears, anger and needing comfort during Steve's deployment. Trever was not easy to get to know at first- she is quiet but has deep love and much wisdom.
In every place we live, there is one friend that I get to know at the very end of our time. I had known Sherry earlier, but the friendship did not kick off until spring this year. Our sons, Nathan and Nathanael, were friends and as we brought them together for play dates, we talked over chips and homemade guacamole. Sherry makes me laugh. I wish I had more time to get to know her.
My relationship with Deborah, my sister-in-law, had the most ups and downs at first, but I have come to love her more deeply since we've had the experience of living together for eight months. She came to live with us in January 2006 while Steve was deployed in Iraq. She's since then moved into her own apartment in Clarksville and I will greatly miss our girl's nights out together. Nathanael and Lydie had the blessing of having family live so close, an oddity in a military life.
Ayame and I had met at a PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) meeting on post. We were both new. She was from California and had a cool name. Neither of us returned to PWOC, but our friendship continued. We walked together through the painful season of our husband's deployment. It is rare to find a friend with whom you can both laugh and cry with. We spent a week with Ayame and her three kids Elise, Thayne and Ryan in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. Ayame and I never ran out of things to talk about. And we were still talking even after spending seven days together. That says a lot. Our kids played morning to night, putting on talent shows and swimming in the pool. We stayed with Ayame during our last few days and I had to literally force my legs to get me into the car when we said goodbye. She is like a sister to me.
"Bye Clarksville!" we yelled as we turned onto I-24, only eight hours from our next destination- Augusta, Georgia. It always helps to leave when you know where you're going to next.
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