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No entries in over a month??? That's the slacker coming out in me, I guess... ;o)

March was pretty much a whirlwind of activity. The first two weeks were spent gearing up for Jody to come home for his two weeks of R&R leave from Iraq, and then we spent the second half of the month together as a family once again. Jody was indoctrinated into our new unschooling life (and he took to it beautifully, I must say!). It was a relaxed visit....sleeping in way too late, lounging in bed, eating out, playing D&D until the wee hours of the morning, and just enjoying one another's company.

Saying goodbye to Jody at the airport was heartwrenching...so much harder than saying our first goodbyes way back in August. In August, we could only speculate on what this separation would be like. At the end of March we knew how hard and dangerous the past months have been, and the thought of sending Jody back there?!?! I can't even put that into words... We've seen this war tear apart families and maim (physically, as well as mentally) and kill soldiers that we knew.

This deployment has forced Tristan to grow up all too quickly. No child should have to see his dad head off to war, all the while knowing he may never see his dad again. We know countless kids who have now gone through this two and three times, and we've seen the lasting damage it creates. The very unfortunate reality of being in a military family. Jody and I have vowed to never put our family through this again. Jody filed paperwork yesterday, turning down a well deserved promotion....our first step in becoming a civilian family after he returns.