War, Painting Furniture And A Sense Of Peace...

My husband and I have been stationed all over the world. We have deployed many times each, and as a matter of fact, my husband just deployed again yesterday. One of the many things or feelings that painting furniture brings me has been a sense of peace....it helps me stop thinking through the act of creating. I have my kids, they bring me smiles, laughter, madness and distraction. Refinishing furniture and making it beautiful brings me peace.

The love of my life is half a world away now. I haven't gotten over the raw pain enough to pick up a paintbrush, but I will do so pretty soon. In our line of work, this situation is a given. We must ready ourselves, deal with it...accept it. I will Soldier on. In every sense of the word. I have to for my work, for my Soldiers. My kids need me to, that is MOST important. My husband needs me to...I am the last thing he needs to worry about downrange. And at the end of the day, I need me to. So....when this huge lump in my throat clears, when this tremendous weight eases the tiniest bit off of my chest and shoulders...I will paint again.

This was taken in 2007 at Catfish Air, a helo transport service in Iraq for people traveling  from FOB to FOB. My husband and I were lucky enough to be able to visit each other...this was taken when he was getting ready to fly out. Please pray for him and for all Soldiers who are in harms way, defending our country! 

I love this man. He has supported me and we have been there for each other for over ten years now. We have an imperfectly beautiful family and love. He is my rock and my favorite person in the world and quite simply he drives me mad and makes me insanely happy at the same time!

I am absolutely grateful to have found this passion, and I know it will help save my sanity throughout this year that my husband is deployed. I thank my family, my friends and facebook followers for supporting me, cheering me on and flat out putting up with me! I hope everyone has an outlet like this...would some of you share how you deal with life's difficulties?

My next post will be about painting furniture and not a teary eyed rambling, I promise! Love to all, Claudia