Goodbye

He's gone. It was hard to say goodbye. I don't know how much I want to say about it right now. We spent that last day together cherishing every moment (as we had been doing for weeks). We swam at the hotel, played, and then had fathers blessings. We cried. We held each other. We told each other everything we wanted to say the night before so we could head to the airport early in the morning with nothing but hope and a smile. That didn't work for Sarah, who cried just about the entire time. Because we are a military family, we were able to go through security all the way to the gate and see the plane off. Sarah was insistent that we did so. Katie was bored. Shawn didn't understand anything. I was just trying to keep it all together.

I was most scared for the lonely drive home. I found that it wasn't lonely at all. I had three beautiful children in the backseat to make me smile and make me feel loved. I told them that we would get home the same time as dads plane landed, and that was the case. We got a phone call as soon as we got in.
I am so thankful these past 8 days for skype, cell phones, friends and family, and Wonder Wife (my alter ego who has been MIA since I got pregnant with Shawn, but is now BACK!). John is by now done with his in-processing at his training destination and will hop the pond some time mid summer. Things are going well and he is very set up there. If you want to write to him, contact me and I will send you the address.