It just started raining. I hope Joel is staying dry. Jeremiah keeps peering out the window looking at the soldiers marching by and the officers coming into our building. Occasionally someone will wave at him. He’ll ask me who it was and remind me that it couldn’t be daddy, “cause he’s out in the field.” Jeremiah is hoping that ‘tent army guys’ brought tents to his daddy in the field so he can be dry. Sarah is concerned that it will be dark in the tent and daddy won’t be able to see…
—

Before the rain started, we went to a park here on base. The kids played while I attempted to run around and around and around the small trail circling the playground. It wasn’t a very good workout. I kept getting chased by small children, tagged by Jeremiah, and interrupted by falling kids.

I finally gave up on the running thing and just did the parent watching kids play at park thing. I’m not usually very good in this role.

[playground flashback]
Three moms pushing young children at the swing set. I’m in the middle. Mother on left talks to mother on right… I try to get into conversation but… nope it just doesn’t work out. Finally Sarah and I go hiking just so I can avoid the awkwardness.
[/playground flashblack]

Thankfully I did much better today.

Young mom and her son stepped onto the playground. The little guy was wearing an Army PT shirt like Jeremiah’s. Very shy, Jeremiah decided to greet the young boy and show him his matching Army shirt. Joesph [the other boy] completely ignored him and went straight to the rock climbing wall. This didn’t deter Jer. It only encouraged him, here was a boy who not only has an Army shirt, but who loves rock climbing. They were quick friends.

Emily [the mom] seemed familiar. We eventually started to talk and I realized why. Her husband just finished Bible college and is a children’s pastor back home in Indiana. He’s a chaplain assistant in the Reserves who is being deployed to Iraq.

Despite their faith, his wife worries about his safety. Of course she does. War is a scary thing. I can’t wait to be a chaplain, ministering to these families, comforting them when a loved one is deployed.

We talked for a while and then loaded the kids up and said good bye. We did that silly thing where you say, “see ya later” but don’t exchange contact info and never cross paths again.
—

The park at lunch time is a patriotic photo just waiting to be taken. Uniformed daddies playing on the slide with their kids. Laughing and running and swinging their kids in the air. Each scene is a poster declaring, “This is what I’m fighting for!”