A Look Back

This time of year one year ago I had my emotional wind knocked out of me. We had just 3 weeks notice and T would be gone to Iraq. Possibly gone for good. Perish the thought. Perish it forever I say! That was some growing experience indeed. One I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. Although it made us stronger as a family. That is one thing I am grateful for I guess. Time has made me relax though. I have been forgetful lately. Forgetful of my blessings. Forgetting all the service that was rendered on my behalf.

The other day I was reminded. We needed to get dinner on the table fast due to evening activities and I needed "all hands on deck." I used that term a lot while I was 'single' for six months. "All hands on deck" meant everyone had to be moving together helping out, moving us in the same direction to get things done together. The kids learned to do or die. It was awesome how we sometimes gelled and got things done that one would have thought less likely to happen (impossible is indeed too strong a word). So when Dad was working late and the quesadillas needed flipping and the table needed setting and the clock was ticking, we all worked together and I looked over at my 15 year old young man and said "doesn't this remind you of when Dad was gone and we worked together all the time?" He agreed that it was a lot like that.

Then a friend had a birthday and I didn't remember it until 2 weeks after the fact. I recalled how on my last birthday that same friend (who was even less familiar then) took me out to lunch on my birthday. She knew it would be a hard day for me celebrating it without T. I was thinking about that today again. I told her I should have taken her out on her day! She just smiled.

I guess the only way to repay a favor like that is to pay it forward. So I am off this afternoon to bake something for a friend who is having surgery. Will it be enough? What else can I do, for who? Who's bucket is low? It will likely be mine tomorrow, so I better start stock piling good deeds in my favor.