Washington DC & why I’ve been MIA

I have been away from the blog for several reasons.  The previous post is a large one.  The final decision, and what I was waiting to find out was if we would be moving, and the military has decided that yes, we are moving to Barksdale AFB in Shreveport, LA.  Honestly at first I was thrilled…I will be close to home! But reality hit fast. I don’t want to leave DC yet.  I have fallen completely in love with this city, and Norman and I both are sad to have to leave.  The job he is selected to do is fabulous, and I will go into that later.  So that is wonderful for his career.  A great job for his resume, and that is a blessing.  But to leave here before we were ready is almost like experiencing a great loss.  And I’m not at the point where I can look at this logically and say, “Stacey! You have been blessed to live here the past 16 months! Be grateful for that!” But I’m not there.  I hope to be there…and soon….but I’m not.  Before I go on any further, I want to say to my friends…if you have planned to come visit us and have not yet done so, please do.  This is one place every American should experience. 

This city has changed me in some way.  It’s opened my eyes politically, but it has made me love my country…adore it…respect our military even more and truly love all those who have sacrificed so much so that I can be FREE!  This is the city of FREEDOM! Of course, it is the city of stupid politicians too, but you have those everywhere…even in the smallest, most obscure corners of the globe.   As I see all the visitors who have come here to “experience” DC, I am sad.  As people rush around to see the monument – click

…museum – click…

They SEE it all, but this place is a feeling.  To sit in a place and look at a monument and think…just THINK about all the lives lost, for all of us – it is humbling.  People come to take photos of the marble and concrete, yet so many times fail to stop and think of all the lives lost.  And words escape me when I visualize Arlington National Cemetery.  Admiration, sadness, peace, weeping, widows, honor…the feeling you get standing among the fields of white headstones…feeling the wind on your face…you know that you are BLESSED to be here.  BLESSED to live in such a place where people who don’t even know you, love you…love this country so much that they are willing to fight and die to protect it. 

Today standing on the lawn of the Capitol I had so much pride for Norman…so few people get to even go IN our Capitol, but Norman has served his country by working in it.

My heart is so full of pride for him, and I am not prepared to walk away from this magical place.  There is so much going on right now…left versus right, fighting, name calling, racism.  Put that all aside.  Leave it ALL someplace else.  There is no room in this blog for that. 

As sad as I am to leave, I am so very thankful to the Air Force for sending us here.  For letting us LIVE this experience.  Because this isn’t a vacation town…it’s an experience to have.  It’s a feeling that will never leave you for the rest of your life.  It’s pride in something that is bigger than you, bigger than all the hate that may be present here…It’s love for this Red, White, and Blue that continues to wave DESPITE everything else that goes on. 

There is a certain place on this highway that Norman and I love.  When you round the corner, you can see all at the same exact moment, the Washington Monument, the Pentagon, the Air Force Memorial, the Capitol and the Jefferson Memorial.  Our reaction every time we make that turn we are always speechless and one of us will say “wow…that is absolutely amazing”.  But today…today as we came close to that curve in the road, I got a knot in my gut.  How many more times would we get to experience this?  And then we saw it, and I was suddenly struck with the “hugeness” of this place.  I love D.C.  I’m devastated to leave.  And I hope and pray that some day God sees fit to bring us back.  Because this experience has become a part of me…And I’m fortunate to have had it. 

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