Knee Deep in the Hooah!

Curly headed pirate is my new nickname for Emma. It used to be peeker because when she was just a little baby she would sometimes peek at me with one eye open and the other closed as tight as she could get it. She has a mopsy top full of spiral curls, and blue eyes that sparkle and dance with mischief as their backdrop. She’s as whimsical and magical as an elf or fairy, and is more vexatious than any monster that Hans Christian Anderson could have ever imagined!

She is my daughter, and some days I wonder how we will make it through the long absence without our Noble Prince Hooah. I never wonder, though, how life would be without her. That would be like wondering how life would be without air. It’s inconceivable!

My little curly headed pirate has had to go through some of her own adjustments with her papa’s absence. Sometimes she is able to really articulate what the problem is, but most times there is just some general whining and clinging. I am acutely aware of her pangs and anxieties. Her life, up until a little more than a month ago, consisted of one mama, one papa, two brothers at home, and one brother living away from home (but would still visit), grandparents, and one house — the only house she ever slept in. Suddenly our brother who is away can no longer come home for visits, her house sold, her papa left and one of her brothers living at home moved out to start his own life in an apartment so he can continue on with college. We are in a strange house, we are not unpacked, we are moving again, and she has not heard her papa’s voice for over a month. She does hear from him though because I tell her that he loves her, misses her, and can’t wait to see her.

When Bryan was still home, he and Emma were a team. I know why he had a certain bounce in his step when I would see him walking up the driveway after work. That bounce was an excitement and an anticipation of what Emma was doing, saying and learning. The two were partner’s in crime — how many nights did Emma get Oreo cookies for bed time snack? You would have to ask her papa who would sit there and eat a half a bag with her! Bryan held her many a sleepless night, and he rocked her as much as he could. He wore her on his chest when she was an infant — he wore her with more pride than a soldier wearing a hard earned medal. He is a very good father.

She got a little birthday card from him yesterday. He wrote it out on her birthday, but it only made it to the mail late last week. She carried that little card around with her all day today. Bryan doodled a little bunny rabbit in the card for her, so she keeps saying “Look! Look at what my papa drew to me!” She slept with it last night. Here all this time I was worrying about how I would be able to keep the bonds between her and her papa strong while he is away, and now I realize I just need to keep doing what I do. I will keep telling her that her papa loves her and misses her, and I will let God and Emma’s sweet memories do the rest.

Tags: family life //