Illuminate Week 4

One Word

For the fourth week of the Illuminate class, the journal assignment was to write about where we see ourselves one year from now. The photo assignment revolved around one word that holds significance for us right now. We were to photograph the letters of our one word found in nature, architecture, and design.

It has already been 1 year, 5 months, and 27 days since Julia went to heaven. If someone told me a year ago that I wouldn't be crying daily or wandering aimlessly around the house or that I would be able to focus my thoughts, I might not have believed it. I was in the depths of my grief a year ago. I still have hard days but I also have many hopeful days. And now to the future. In one year I hope that the hopeful days outnumber the hard days. In one year I hope that my memories of Julia's good days and her smiles can be my most vivid ones. In one year I hope that my children see me as a happier person. In one year I hope that Julia's little brother (10 months old now) will recognize her picture and say her name. In one year I hope that talking about Julia will be healthy and comforting to my older children. In one year, as today, I hope that I show Julia that my life is better because she was and is a part of it.

Finally, in one year I hope to be fully settled in our new home. This brings me to my one word for this week's assignment: home. We are a military family and have moved around for the last 15 years. We have been in northern Virginia for the last four years, including our time with Julia. Our experience with Julia cemented us here. We already had wonderful friends and neighbors but because of Julia, we grew closer and closer to the community around us. They took care of us and supported us in countless ways. This year my husband has his first opportunity to leave military service. We have decided to stay in northern Virginia and buy our own home here in our same neighborhood. These friends and neighbors knew Julia. They loved her. They were a part of her life and our life with her. One of Julia's many gifts to us, then, is a place to call home.

PS: We moved into our new home one week ago! 

*This post was originally created as an assignment for the Illuminate online photography course. For my week one post, click here. For week two, click here. For week three, click here.