little house

This is what our place looks like.  A wildfire has been burning through the nearby forests for a week.  The air is so filled with smoke that the children aren't allowed outside.  The color of the air is forever changing, sometimes dark and foggy, sometimes yellow or pink, and sometimes a brilliant, eerie, beautiful copper.

 Every home smells like a campground, and there's no fresh air to be found.  Many of the surrounding communities have evacuated as the fires have neared, but the fire is still miles away from us and we won't be evacuated for days.  The whole town is quiet, though.  Many families have left, to clearer areas, on trips, and to stay with family.

We live in an in-between world right now.  Life is not normal.  We can't go on our adventures.  We can't visit the playground, ride bikes, or swing.  It's summer vacation, but we sit in our home trying to fill our time.  We are packed and prepared to leave when the time comes.  We know this fire might come, but it's not here yet.

Tyler is working the fire, and so many of our friends.  He's gone except for his sleeping hours, from 10pm to 6am.  I'm so grateful for the 5 minutes here and there that we get to see each other.  The kids haven't spent any time with him for weeks, so this morning he woke them up before he left to give them some love and hugs.  They miss him.

Within the next few days, I'm not sure when, we'll be on our way to stay with Tyler's parents in the southern part of the state.  We don't know when we'll come back, and what our most-beloved area will be like when we do!

Most of all, I'm looking forward to our family all being together again.  I don't like being apart, especially when we can't foresee when we'll come home.  I hope every single firefighter and crew member out there gets to return to their homes, all around the country, to the arms of their loving families, too.