Roots

I just love this picture.  I love hearing stories about when my parents dated, their wedding, their travels before kids.  Something about getting to know them before I knew them.
This was taken soon after my dad returned from Vietnam.  I think about what my dad's eyes have seen.  I think about how proud he is and how bad his heart hurts sometimes.  I think about him every time I hear the Star Spangled Banner. I think about what it felt like to come home...to leave an ugly war and come back to normal.  To come back to this beautiful woman.
I think about my mom.  I think about how she slept at night knowing the man she wanted to marry was constantly in danger.  I think about where her mind would go when weeks or months would pass with no letter.  How did families do this with no email, skype, phone calls?  I think about her joy welcoming him home.
I love this picture.