After 30 years of moving around the country and Germany (twice) our last military station was at Picatinny Arsenal, in North Jersey in 1985.
This particular Christmas we had a lot of snow on the ground. One evening, just before dark, my husband came in from taking our dog for a walk and said: “Come on outside, it’s really beautiful.” I declined but at his insistence donned layers of clothing and went out into the cold evening with him. He led me down the hill towards our little post chapel and then behind it.
There on the small pond which had frozen over and had a deep layer of snow upon it, was a surprise for me.
In huge letters, he had written, “I LOVE YOU PATRICIA.”
The memory will never leave me, although I lost him to Agent Orange complications in 2012.
Murphy writes from Rio Grande.
