Monday, May 2, 2011

for my journal



dear journal,
i want to jot down what i was doing last night when this historical event took place. i remember the details of the day mark died so vividly. i don't want to forget last night either.

the kids were in bed. david was on the floor looking through our movie collection deciding what movie to watch as i was finishing up a blog post. i quickly checked facebook and saw a couple status updates about bin ladens death. i yelled out to david and gave him the computer to find a live news feed. we watched our president announce that after nearly ten years of war, we had found and killed osama bin laden. i got emotional. my mind of course went straight to mark. i texted my older brother brandon. no answer when i called him either. david and i tried to find out more information online, but this was fresh news, so there weren't many details yet. i looked at david and said, "it was the SEALs." 

a little while later, i went out in the backyard to try to get cell phone service. it was late and dark and calm. the breeze was blowing, the bugs chirping, a perfect spring night. i sat down and cried. they were grateful tears. grateful for the justice in this world and in the next life. grateful for the hard work & sacrifice of so many people to get to this point. grateful for mark and his spirit that still lives. i could hear his chuckle in my head. i wondered what he would be saying right then.

david and i stayed up for quite a while longer. maybe till 1am. we were pumped up. we kept speculating about all the behind the scenes details that went on behind this operation. 

this morning, i woke up. talk to my dad and finally brandon. more emotions. found out that it was SEAL team six. more emotions. 

i knew it was them.
and i've never been more proud.

3 comments:

The Mathews Family said...

And as I'm bawling I just read this out loud to Nate. I thought of you and your family when I heard the news. One day when I finally get to meet your brother I am going to give him a great big hug and thank him for his sacrifice. And in the meantime... I can tell you thank you so much. My thoughts are with you always when we talk of our true heroes. It's an amazing blessing being an American!
-Jessica

shalynn said...

thanks jessica for the kind words. you're so sweet:)

Kelly said...

I have been doing some bragging lately about your brave brother. I am so proud and can only imagine how excited you must have been to hear the news. Go SEALs!