A friend calls tears “liquid love.”
I certainly found myself welling up several times
Monday during the second Honor Flight luncheon the Woodson Art Museum has
hosted for the spouses of veterans traveling and touring war memorials in Washington
DC.
What an emotion-saturated day it must be for these couples.
A packed itinerary bracketed by a 6:30 am departure and 9:30 pm return flight
would be a full day for anyone. Imagine what it must’ve been like for Arline
Baughman, 93, whose husband is 94. She said the day brought back many memories
of parting with her husband when their son was two-weeks old and their time
apart early in their 72-year marriage.
Yet the three hours visiting with one another during
lunch, touring the NASA | ART exhibition on view, and creating lunar landscape
artwork were marked mainly by laughter.
And that’s the goal – for them to set aside any
cares for a few hours and enjoy a relaxing gallery experience.
Several spouses created lasting memories in the
company of their daughters or other family members. Others got acquainted with
the Never Forgotten Honor Flight and Museum volunteers who joined each table
and led clusters of women on informal tours to see space-related artworks.
I wonder if some pondered the parallels between
spouses seeing astronauts off into space and husbands off to war. If they did,
they chose not to dwell on those thoughts in casual conversation. Perhaps they
preferred to wait until spouses were home, safe and sound.
What a privilege it is to honor these spouses who
sacrificed much while their partners were away, yet who reflect on that time
and exhibit humor, grace, and amazingly dry eyes.
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