The highs and the Lows...

Man, oh man, oh man...what a spectacular several days it's been!
As many of you know, my beloved Kate, Meredith, and Lauren braved the wilds of the TSA and several airports to make the arduous journey down to San Antonio to visit me!  What an absolute joy to have them in my world for a few precious days.  More than even I realized at the time, I needed a shot of family to pick me back up for the second half of this course.  The simple pleasure of having them within arm's length has been a blessing, and I am truly grateful for having had this time with them.  But, as the days pass, it comes time for me to send them back home to Cincinnati.  It was a tearful goodbye this evening (even though we were all enjoying our favorite dinner of Rudy's BBQ), knowing that it would be another extended period of time before we would be together again.  But, this isn't anything out of the ordinary for the Army; no choice but to suck it up and get down to business.
One note on the Army Wife: she is an exceptional woman.  She takes up the slack of the father when he's gone, does double duty as a single parent, maintains a household with as much grace and continuity as possible, and still finds time to make her husband feel like he is doing the right thing...and that he is truly loved, no exceptions.  I am grateful for my Army Wife (...and my Army Girls, who make me feel just as on-top-of-the-world!), and I wish her and my whole family safe travels back home.  I'll see you all again very soon; know that you're always in my heart.
I wish happiness to all who have taken the time to read this.  I'll be off-the-grid until next Friday, as we will begin the field exercise portion of our course tomorrow evening.  Be good, look in on the ladies, take good care of yourselves, and, as always...
Peace.