AWOL

In military terms, AWOL stands for “Absent WithOut Leave” and refers to a soldier’s unexcused failure to report for duty.

I think the term applies here, too. I’ve been absent without leave for the past couple of weeks, ignoring this blog in lieu of preparations for our son’s deployment. Unless you’re part of a military family, it’ll be difficult for you to understand all that entails.

I think we’re over the hump now, and ready to get back to the normal abnormal of everyday life. Of course it’ll be a different kind of normal for the next year, but we’ll make it. One day at a time, we’ll make it. That’s the bitter-sweet effect of being such a close family.

On the other hand, as I told the sobbing mom standing next to me watching the troops’ buses depart the armory, “They can’t come back until they go.”

Nope. They can’t.

Godspeed, Red Arrow Brigade.