Old Friends - Lacy Mullen

 Since my husbands medical retirement he hasn't talked about many friends. He is not a very social person, never has been. There are a few who have made it through and he asks about them, or asks if I've heard from them But, for the most part, he's good with playing with the kids. It's been almost a year for us moving into our home, a few of his friends have come to visit. He enjoyed his time with them tremendously while they talked and stayed up late trying to remember different people's names they weren't so close to but severed with, telling funny stories and pranks that were played. 

Through it all I really just sat back and observed I was happy to see a different kind of joy from my husband. While watching, I could tell that with each joke and funny story there was a painful memory attached that was never spoken. The laughs would suddenly stop, and a deep intense look would cross over one or both of their faces, and silence would kill the joy that was flowing just moments earlier. The amazing thing was they were all able to step right back into a new funny story or prank that was played nearly as quickly as the hard silence would come and go. I admire my husband and his friends, along with all of our other military family.  Blood or not, these men and women are stronger than I could ever imagine being. To have every good moment tainted, to me, would for sure darken my entire outlook. Yet they carry on through the ashes they are growing forests!