Breathing

Dave Five Minute Friday

He’s home.

A collective sigh shudders.

We imagine the mundane again.

I exhale and begin to slot into

Old patterns

The good cheer of rising to the challenge

Dissipates.

New rhythms, needs clash.

We try and fail and repeat.

The funk hovers, thick in its haze.

I escape.

Friends breathe for me, showing me how again.

Light reflects from empathetic smiles.

I inhale.

We rise anew.

…

For the background to this post see here. 

This post is a part of a link up for Five Minute Friday, a community of fellow writers who write for 5 minutes every Friday together on a prompt.

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18 comments

    1. So kind, Christy! I’m a very novice poet actually, but I like the way it can help me process the feelings that are harder to access and process 🙂

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  3. Emma, this is beautiful. Sometimes we just need people to sit with us and hekp us in the chaos. So much THIS: “Friends breathe for me, showing me how again” I’m thankful for friends who have helped me do that in the past too. So glad Dave is home. Praying for a speedy recovery.

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    1. Really appreciate your support and prayer, Tara! Friends are so important, particularly in times when things are going a little ‘off-course’, hey?

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    1. Thanks Sarah 🙂 I understand that feeling well! Hope you all get a chance to reconnect and rest well together xx

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    1. Appreciate your prayers, Susan! We are doing ok, just learning to adjust to the ups and downs of life 🙂

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  6. I’m so very sorry that you’ve all been dealing with this. Dave’s going on my prayer list right now. In fact – Father God, I ask that You bring wholeness and healing. We already know that You are working in so many ways. Ways that we can’t see or understand. Please, Father, grace Emma with peace. Let her know in a special way, just between the two of you, that You are always there and will always take care of her and her family. Thank You for bringing Dave home. Thank You for this little family. Thank You Father for all the good You are doing and will continue to do. We love you! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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  7. Emma,
    my friends who are military wives often experience that difficult transition back. I’m not sure if this is the same for you (you list a background post and I apologize for not reading it today).
    Know that I love your post, though! 🙂
    My husband’s name is also Dave. Just another thread tying us together across this crazy world.
    Thank you for your poem. I’m pretty sure mine’s going to be a poem this week as well.
    Love,
    Tammy

    Reply

    1. That makes a lot of sense, Tammy! Our absence was due to a medical emergency but the transition feeling must be similar as you hold on and be strong and then relax a bit when they return, which causes different problems and brings up all the emotions… Thanks for stopping by and can’t wait to read your poem xx

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  8. Whew! You’ve been through a lot in the last few days! That caregiver adrenaline kicks in and when the crises passes, there’s a letdown as all the adrenaline wonders where to go and what to do next. May God comfort all of you as you breathe and adjust to less stress!

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    1. That makes a lot of sense, Anita! I wondered why it was harder when it felt like it should have been ‘easy’ again 🙂 Appreciate your wisdom and support xx

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  9. I’m so glad you found solace in your life-bringers, Emma. Talk about necessary. Seriously, you are far ahead of the curve of most cranky mummies. 🙂 I hate seeing moms doing it alone. So glad Dave is home. Girl, I’m with you though—it totally sucks after the good part, when everything gets back to normal and every refinds the crazy. Keep breathing. Keep. Breathing. 😉

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    1. Me too! Realising more and more how much I need others and the resistance of this just makes it so much harder… About to go and read your post now! xx

      Reply

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