On a more personal note,

Once again it is time for my husband to leave and I shall miss him sorely. Perhaps it is age, perhaps it is recent biopsy results (semi-positive), or perhaps it is just the simple fact that I would like to spend a little more time gazing into his blue eyes, listening to his latest take on any given subject, or just sitting on our yard swing, watching the plants grow. I believe the latter, I love the man.

He'll be 14,000 miles away, working for our country, our troops and our family (I believe it is "God, Family, Country"), for yet another year or so.

Why is it that when one wants time to stand still, it appears to race faster towards the event one wants to avoid?

Perhaps your leaving is what prompted me to plant gardens; fruits, vegetables, flowers that will blossom spring after spring. An act so alien to my nature, a symbolic gesture of renewal and new beginnings in the spring.

Oh, And, Anthony, Your name, in big, bold, letters, special delivery requested.