Magnified

With 5 months to go before deployment, our day-to-day life really hasn’t changed. Chris and I both still get up and go through the daily routine of work, marriage, parenting, household chores, etc. I am certain that this dynamic will change as deployment gets closer, but until then, life feels fairly normal.

There are some moments, however, that break through the normalcy and remind us what lies ahead. These scenes play out as if they are in slow motion or that we are looking at them through a magnifying glass. Moments that we often take for granted or situations that would seem sweet but normal take on more meaning now.

It happened a few times this past weekend. Chris sitting with the boys, all snuggled up in an oversized chair or family time in bed on a Saturday morning. Sure, we might have paused before and noted the sweetness of the moment, but now I grab the camera and click away to capture these memories.

It is as though the small things in life have become magnified. The sweet moments become memories to capture on film and not just in our mind. The challenging moments feel more overwhelming imagining them on our own, either here at home or in the middle of a dry desert. In some ways, this is wonderful – it highlights the things in life that are truly important. In other ways, living life interspersed with magnified moments can be exhausting.

I imagine this will be the pace of life with Chris away. The small things will feel bigger in both good and hard ways. The sweet, silly, fun snapshots will seem lacking somehow. I will want to call Chris and tell him all about the funny thing that Brody said or the hysterics that Caleb is causing; or better yet, tell him face-to-face when he gets home at the end of the day. Will these stories translate well over email or will I have to keep a list of them to share with Chris when we actually get the chance to talk? I also think of the moments when I want to pull my hair out, when the boys are being mischievous or they are both sick and I just need a reprieve. Scripture is so right when it says in Ecclesiastes 4 that:

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

Celebrating and commiserating will look differently in the season ahead as we learn to do those things long-distance and with others around us. I already look forward to the time when Chris’ homecoming is magnified and looming huge on the horizon – I will be ready with my camera then too!