Emily's District Swim Meet

On Saturday, we went to Emily's District swim meet. It was really loud in there, so Marley was pretty quiet and just stared at everything. But every single person I knew there told me that Marley was adorable and they wanted so badly for her to smile or wave at them. But she was just too overwhelmed.
Being there really made me miss swimming. I don't want to do it competitively again, but if I could work it out I would go swim for exercise. But what I really miss is the social part of swimming. Most of my friends swam, and I always had to much fun with them. As you know, that's where Asa and I met! I just miss being a part of that community.
Emily did really well, and is looking forward to Regionals in two weeks in Houston!
Doesn't she look so grown-up with her hands in her pockets?!

The Story of Us, Part Two

First was dinner for the Honorees and their dates. We sat at a table with a few of my friends and ate while they showed a slideshow of pictures from the Honorees' lives. I could tell Asa felt uncomfortable, but he made the best of it. He kept me smiling and was luckily not embarrassed when my baby pictures flashed on the screen.Next we headed into the ballroom to line up for our walk across the stage. Looking at everyone waiting in line near us, I was so glad to be there with Asa. He wasn't joking around or yelling to his buddies. He was there to be with me, and he was. We walked across the stage without tripping or anything!

After everyone had come across the stage, all of my friends gathered for a group picture. I somehow lost track of Asa at this point. I guess he didn't think he was invited in the picture, but he would have been if I could find him. Just as we were finishing up our picture, they started playing the first song. Where was Asa? I looked everywhere for him, trying to figure out why he wasn't there to dance with me.

And then I found him. Dancing with his ex girlfriend on the very first dance of the night. This is the same ex girlfriend that tried to convince me he didn't like me, flirted with Asa all the time, and later tried to break us up. I was pretty pissed, but I played it off when he saw me watching them. I mean, I really was starting to like him at this point and now a sting of jealousy was running through me. I found one of my best friends Alex and partied with he and Beyonce for a while.

Lucky for Asa, the next song was a another slow one. He left his ex and came to find me. Still jealous, I played hard-to-get and acted like I didn't want to dance with him. But I did. He apologized and made it up to me by dancing with me for almost all of the slow songs for the rest of the night. And he was a great sport when I wanted to dance to the faster songs. I knew he didn't want to, so I danced with my friends. And I'll admit it, I wanted to make him jealous too. I probably danced with a few more guys than I should have, but hey, he deserved it!When we were done dancing for the night, we started to walk down the hallway to pick up my shoes and jacket. As we left the ballroom, our hands met and we walked hand-in-hand to the closet. I didn't care who saw us, and I even got a few looks from my friends as we walked. But it felt right and comfortable. I put my shoes on and we walked back holding hands again. I remember Asa and I smiling at each other, like we were both thinking the same thing.

Asa's mom lives pretty far out of town, so he was staying on our couch that night. We got frosties from Wendy's and then drove home. I was exhausted, and I could tell he was too. We spent about an hour talking about the night. He told me it was one of the best nights of his life. He was all of the sudden shy, which was not Asa's personality normally. He later told me that I intimidated him and he liked me so much that he didn't want to give me a reason not to like him. So, I talked and talked and then shut my eyes. Asa sat there watching me for a few minutes, thinking I was asleep. Then he gently kissed me on the forehead, turned off the light, and went to the couch for the night.

That kiss on the forehead sealed the deal for me. He wasn't the guy I had thought he was, and it meant that he might actually want a real relationship with me. I ended that night a different person. I had learned to stop judging Asa based on what he looked like or what other people thought about him and to do what makes me happy regardless of what my friends would think. It still took a couple of weeks for us to officially start dating. I was a little scared of my feelings for him right away.

We spent the next two weeks hugging in the hallway and talking on the phone all night. It was at Regionals that year that we really started to act like a couple. He sat by me at dinner, held my hand on the bus, and hugged me when I was cold. To my surprise, no one seemed to care that we were together. I thought there would be a huge uproar from my friends, but there wasn't.

The Monday after Regionals was February 13th, 2006. We had a little swim practice, but got out early. Asa and I decided we wanted to watch Boondock Saints together. We drove all over town trying to find someone with a copy, and then headed home to watch it. I had a class at the college that night, so we had to stop the movie early and I took Asa to his dad's house and headed to class. On the way there, I decided I really didn't want to go. So, I turned around and went back to pick up Asa and skipped class! (Sorry, Mom...) Asa said he had the perfect plan. He gave me directions and we drove about 10 miles out of town, down a little road. Honestly, I had no idea where were going. It turns out, he wanted to show me the house he grew up in! Asa loves this house, and still talks about it today. That house is where all of his memories are it meant a lot to me that he wanted me to see it. We walked around the house (no one lived there) and looked in the windows that were open. He told me story after story about his fam`ily and things he remembered doing in that house. There was a huge picnic table where we sat and talked for a while. I remember wondering if he was going to kiss me while we sat there, but he didn't.

Next we drove to his best friend Bradley's house. I had never met him before, but he was another guy that looked like one thing on the outside, but was a totally different person on the inside. We drove back to my house and ate dinner with my family. Asa ended up bargaining with his mom to stay with us again that night since she lived so far out of town.

We finished Boondock Saints and then sat in my bed together talking (don't worry, the door was open!). We talked about everything that night, and stayed up way later than we should have. At about 12:30 on the morning of the 14th, Asa said

"What would you say if I asked you to be my girlfriend?"
"Well are you asking me or just asking me what I would say?"
"I don't know..."
"Well, if you're asking me if I will be your girlfriend, yes I will!"

He was ecstatic! We laughed and hugged, and then had one of those moments like in the movies when you think the two main characters are about kiss. But, Asa got shy. He turned away and changed the subject. It was about 30 minutes later when it finally happened. I was tired of waiting for him to kiss me, even though I thought it was awfully cute that he was so shy about it. So, I kissed him.

Just in case you were keeping score, that's 3 points for me (asking him to Honoree, pretty much doing the asking out, and the first kiss) and half a point for Asa (half way asking me to Honoree in 2005). Don't worry, he eventually did the proposing, so that boosted him up a few points!

On February 14th, we will have been together for 10 years. When I think about how much we have both changed and how wonderful our lives are now, I am in awe. At the time when all of this was happening, I never would have thought that we would be here together 4 years later, with our perfect daughter. It is crazy to think we could start with this simple little story that so many other people have had, two high school students who go a dance together, and today be in the story we are now. We are so lucky and it makes me so thankful that we both did everything we did back then. We have so much ahead of us, so much to look forward to.

Easier Every Day

It seems a little easier this time around. Before Christmas, being alone was new and it was a shock. It felt like a cloud was constantly over my head, as I stressed about Asa and got letters from him detailing his homesickness. But things are different since Christmas. With the end in sight, I feel excited and energetic about the future. Asa's letters are much happier and the days are going by more quickly for him. They were going by more quickly for me also when the weather was nice, but now we are back to being indoors. But my attitude is still bright. I no longer feel like there is a cloud over me. Of course I think about Asa and miss him. But I guess you just get to a point where you get past the sadness and you just adjust to the way it is. So, for us, this is the way it is. And we have to enjoy our days because that's what we have.

Marley has been doing great. Even with her ear infections and pretty much being sick since Asa left, she has kept me laughing. Oh, how she misses her Daddy though. Asa is constantly in our conversations and there are pictures everywhere to remind her. We have the Daddy Doll that comes with us in the car and sits next to her in the bed. And she is obsessed with watching videos of him. She will literally find my phone every morning and wake me up by shoving it in my face saying "Dada," asking me to play the videos of him. She asks for him when she sees the computer also. She will sit still for 30 minutes just watching video after video of him. I put pictures in my wallet so she can look through that when she's bored somewhere. And then I also put more pictures of him on my phone for her to look at. We even had to resort to getting on Facebook to look at pictures of him because she couldn't get enough! She has a little box that she carries around that has a picture of Asa in it and the bear he brought from St. Louis for her. She pulls it all out and says "Dada." She points to his clothes, his shoes, and his toothbrush, saying "Dada" every time. On one hand that breaks my heart to know that she misses him so much. But on the other hand it makes me smile that she knows him and thinks about him so much.

So, this is nowhere near easy. But it's easier than it was at first. I remember Abigail told me that the first few weeks were the hardest, and I remember thinking "What if it takes months?" But she was right, it does get easier and you do just make the best of it. Asa mentioned recently that he is starting to be proud of himself. At first he was thinking that he wasn't that important, that this was just a job. But over the Christmas break when he saw how many strangers were proud of him and the respect people showed him, he began to be proud of himself. And now he feels important and responsible. And that makes this all so much easier.

Waiting for Mimi

Most days, Marley can't wait for my mom to come home. It's so cute when she wants to sit in the window, and even if we are sitting there during the day she asks for her Mimi.

Waiting for Mimi from Jillian Shaw on Vimeo.

Her other new thing to do anytime we look out a window is look for squirrels. I taught her the sign for squirrel today, but unfortunately there weren't many out because the weather was nasty. It's so cute, when she does the sign she also makes a "q" sounds, like she's trying to say it!

She's a trend-setter

Us, Part One

Emily went to her first Honoree last Saturday night. In Nacogdoches, Honoree is the big dance for the high school. Most people in Nacogdoches don't care a whole lot about prom, Honoree is the one to be excited about. It's an exclusive dance, where each "Honoree" gets to invite only five friends and each friend can bring a date. And no freshmen! Anyway, watching Emily get ready for Honoree reminded me of my senior Honoree in January of 2006, my first date with Asa.

But first, we should backtrack to August of 2004 when I first met Asa. You see, Asa really was a Ladies Man. The first time I ever saw him, he was sitting on a girl's lap. He was a little weird, wore clothes very different from what I wore, and listened to odd music. He would dance around the bus like a crazy person and flirt with every single girl he met. But he was fun, uninhibited, and intriguing at the same time. He was always the one making people laugh, including our swim coach. Here are pictures for clarity:

I was very different. I was calm, boring, responsible, and definitely not the one entertaining everyone. See below.

I heard through the grapevine that Asa liked me (which was baffling to me at the time), but since he was famous for liking lots of girls it didn't really phase me. In January of 2005, I found myself without a date to Honoree. I told my friends on swim team about how I wished I had a date. Even though I wasn't really thinking about Asa being an option, my friend Katie Hamilton mentioned to him that he should ask me. She was kind enough to warn me ahead of time that he was going to ask me, which stressed me out. I didn't want to go by myself, but I also didn't want to get his hopes up that I liked him.

A few days later at swim practice, we were doing a kick set. So, our heads were above the water and Asa and I would pass each other during each lap. And that's when he asked, a word during each lap.

Will.
you.
go.
to.
(I was catching on at this point)
Honoree.
with.
me?

When we finished the kick set, I pretended to not know what he had asked. I really wanted him to just ask me all at once, you know? Be a man, and I probably would have said yes if he had. But he wouldn't do it! He was too nervous to actually say it directly to me, or so he told me later. So stubbornly, I went to Honoree alone (and regretted it a year later).

After that our friendship grew for some reason. I thought he might really actually like me, but we were so different it seemed impossible. We didn't have any friends in common, we didn't listen to the same music or like the same movies. All we had in common was swim team.

At the beginning of my senior year in 2005, it was my turn to be an "Honoree". That meant I really needed a date, and one that would walk across the stage with me. So, I thought to myself "I really need someone taller than me. Asa is taller than me and wouldn't say no!" A little full of myself, huh? It did make me a little tingly inside that he liked me and was telling people how much he liked me, but I still didn't want to like him yet.

At Homecoming that fall, I asked him to be my date to Honoree. He of course said yes, and then bragged to everyone that he was going with me to Honoree. I then spent the next 3 months regeting asking him and wishing I could take it back. He was a nice guy, but I was really worried that he would think I liked him and it would open the door to a really awkward conversation about how I didn't. Even the day before the dance I talked to my mom about how I didn't want to go with him. He had rented a tux, I had gotten a great dress, but I just didn't want it to happen for some reason. Looking back now, I was just scared to like him. I would start to get excited about going with him and then stop myself because I thought it couldn't work. But my mom gave me the best advice. She told me to just go and have fun and keep my mind open. So, I did.

Asa showed up at my house that night looking so handsome. He had probably never been that dressed up, and he looked great! Once he got there and we were really going on a date together, I got butterflies. We were so different, but maybe, just maybe, I was starting to let myself like him.

Just Pictures

These Days

The past two days have been fantastic for a few reasons.
1. We have been able to get outside! The temperature has been so nice, and even though it wasn't very sunny, we still got to play outside. Marley really loves playing outside, even if we are just walking around looking at leaves on the ground. All the exercise she is getting now is actually helping her go to sleep quicker and stay asleep better at night! And not to mention, she is just happier!
2. Marley has actually been eating! Today she had tons of grapes, cheese, baked sweet potato fries, green beans, chicken, pork, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, clementine slices, and finally an oatmeal raisin cookie. That's a long way from her Cheerio and cheese diet she used to exist on! That is also probably contributing to her sleeping better. She's very full!
3. I have also made myself a rule that I can't get on the computer during the day while Marley is awake. It's not like I was spending all my time on the computer, but being forced to do other things actually makes my day a lot less stressful and more organized!
4. And last but not least, my energy is up! Every morning, I get some sort of exercise and then I have my morning fruit smoothie. It's crazy that using energy to exercise actually gets you more energy for the rest of the day. I have been going walking outside, or doing some of the DVDs I have bought the past few days. It's so nice to have some options for variety.

Marley's new favorite thing to do

... is pull every single piece of clothing out of her dresser. And then she looks at them in victory.

Asa Called!

I got to talk to Asa today! I had just put Marley down for a nap and was checking my Facebook when I saw an unknown number come up on my phone. I got a little twinge of excitement, but I really didn't want to get my hopes up and then hear the voice of a salesperson on the other end. but it really was him!

Everyone in his company who passed their recent physical training test and rifle marksmanship test got a four hour pass to "eat junk food and hang out" according to Asa. He actually left his group to come call me. I talked to him for about 20 minutes the first time, and then an hour later he called back and I talked to him for over an hour. I haven't gotten to talk to him at all since he got there, so I can't even explain how happy I was to hear from him.

He sounded like he was doing really well. He said that time is going by much faster now and it seems like they are starting to do more fun things. They are in white phase right now, and will soon be in blue phase. The higher up in the phases he goes, the more fun things they get to do and the easier the Drill Sargents are on them. He said blue phase should start in the next week. They are leaving Wednesday for a three day overnight stay out in the woods. They have a much more official name for it, but I can't remember it. They have all kind of fun, and Asa sounded really excited about it.

He told me that on February 5th they will be done with the basic training part. Even thought there isn't an official graduation, he does get a 36 hours pass to spend time with family. So, Marley and I are going to fly up there and visit him for those 36 hours. And then his final graduation should be March 20th. I don't know for certain enough to book a flight or anything, but I will soon hopefully. That is the big graduation that everyone is invited to.

He also said that their orders will start coming in soon. He could find out anywhere from a week from to a few weeks before graduation. So, I am really looking forward to finding that out and planning our next couple of years. He has been told so many different things as far as where he will be stationed, for how long, when he will get deployed. I just can't get excited about one plan or another because there is no possible way to know. So, I am just planning the very best that I can as far as the next two months. But after that is completely up in the air. I could be in school, or I could have to drop my classes. I could be still living here, or we could be a few hours away, or we could be a plane ride away. Asa could get deployed immediately, or he could in three months, or he could in a year. It's exhausting to try and figure out a plan for any of that, so we just can't. And that's hard to settle with.

14 guys got caught with forbidden items, so that caused a lot of drama. One of the guys in getting kicked out and the rest of them will have something in their permanent Army file. Asa did really well with his BRM (something rifle marksmanship). He got sharpshooter, which is the step below expert. He gets a little medal to go on his Class A uniform. He said his Drill Sargent is having fun with them, laughing and playing music at nights. Oh, and doing donuts in the snow! The weather is warmer there now, and should stay that way while they are on the overnight stay.

Geez, we talked for so long but I really can't figure out what else he told me! If I figure something else out I will write about it. We really talked a lot about Marley. She loved hearing his voice and would gasp when he said her name. She really misses him. Since my letters to him take so long, he is over a week behind on what he are doing, where as I have gotten his letters from a few days ago. He just really sounded like he was doing well. I know he misses us, but I am so glad he can have fun while he is there. He is taking it much more seriously than some of the other guys, but at the same time he is enjoying himself. It's crazy to feel like the end is in sight. Marley and I can go see him in 18 days, and then 7 weeks after that he will be graduating. Just thinking about going to his graduation gets me all tingly with pride!

Three New Things

Marley LOVES puzzles lately! She will do this puzzle over and over. And over. She's really good at it, and applauds herself every time she gets one in!

Sometimes she does get a little frustrated though. It's so cute! She pretty much just keeps trying to shove it in there, pushing as hard as she can on it.

She also has several new signs now. She can say please, thank you, pretty, airplane, deer, lion, elephant, and diaper change. Sure, that looks a lot like she's blowing a kiss, but she is really saying thank you! It's so fun to have a little girl with manners!

The night before Asa left, he spent 20 minutes popping this little round toy out of his mouth and into the air. Marley thought it was hysterical.

Laughing with Daddy from Jillian Shaw on Vimeo.

Well, the other night, Marley brought me the shape sorter that the piece came from. She sat on the bed with me and rolled it around until she found the spot the circle goes into. She got my attention, pointed to the circle, stuck her finger in her mouth, and then pulled it out really fast making a pop noise! I literally almost cried! First of all, because she remembered doing it with Asa. She could remember what he did and that she thought it was funny, even from weeks ago. And then secondly, because she's so smart! She just told me exactly what she wanted!

Asa, The Action Figure

Abigail and Brett sent us the sweetest gift a couple of weeks ago. I think the official term is "Hugs To Go" but we just like to call him her Daddy Doll. It has a little slit in the front of it where I put a picture of Asa, so she knows who it is. She loves it. She carries it around with her calling it Dada and wants to bring it in the car when we go somewhere. It is such a sweet idea, a safe way for her to carry something around that makes her think about Asa. I tried giving her pictures to hold, but she just crumpled them up.
The only thing we need to do is cut his hair!

Back to the Park

It was finally nice enough to get out the house last week, so Marley and I took a few trips to the park and nature trails around Nacogdoches. I have made it my quest to lose some weight while Asa is gone, so I am very thankful that it's warm enough to take Marley walking with me. I also think Marley isn't getting enough physical activity, so I love that she can play outside now. That girl will go down the slide 50 times in a row if I let her!

Sleeping Baby

It's so hard to not take pictures of her when she's sleeping. She looks so sweet.

How Many Ducks Does One Girl Need?

17 Months

It's hard to even comprehend how old she is. I know 17 months isn't old, but it's way older than two months. Or even six months. She is such a little lady now, with a big personality, but a small one at the same time. She is an amazing little person, for all the changes we have been putting her through, and I couldn't be more proud of her. She's a champ.

One of the problems I am facing lately is that I'm torn. On one hand I want time to hurry up so that Asa will be home with us. Even if that doesn't mean here in Nacogdoches, it just means that we will be together as a family. I have a countdown going for how many more weeks until he graduates and I say in my letters that I can't wait for him to be done. I tell Marley he will be home "soon" and I feel like if only time would go a little faster we could be settled again.

But on the other hand, I look at Marley and I wish time would slow down. She grows up so much every day and I constantly wonder if I did enough, enjoyed it enough, hugged her enough. I want time to go by a little slower so that I can savor every moment a little longer. When I think about what will happen in the next few years, I realize we will be busy and in new places and our days will go much more quickly than we want them to. With everything going on, how will we remember to slow down and watch Marley grow? It's overwhelming to think about.

She changes so much every day. She is starting to talk now and have an attitude and tell us exactly what she wants. I can tell exactly how she feels about something and our days are changing from me entertaining her, to her entertaining me. She makes me laugh more than anyone else does and her smile in the morning makes every day good.

I guess we just do the very best we can. Looking at her, I know we have done a great job raising her so far and I know she will be one hell of an adult one day. She will make us so proud of her and I will look back on this time with such great memories, even if it goes more quickly than I want.

Getting into talking

Ever since we started signing with her, people have been asking why she isn't talking yet. I was never worried, I have always felt 100% good about our decision to sign with her. I have heard that signing babies might take a little longer to start talking since they can tell the adults exactly what they want with signs. But, signing babies usually have a much bigger vocabulary once they do start talking because they already recognize the words.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised on Thursday when, all of the sudden, she wants to talk! She has started saying Mama, Dada, and Papa on a regular basis. She also says something that sounds a lot like "there it is" and "thank you". I am trying to get her to say Mimi, but her version comes out as "ee" or "bee"... so we still need to work on that one. But I'm so excited about what she can do! Her little voice is so sweet, and I especially love hearing her ask for me. She talks about Asa way more though. She misses him. Every time we see something camo, "Dada!" Every time we pass by the refrigerator with his picture on it, "Dada!" And every time we see her new Daddy Doll, "Dada!"

I am still going to teach her new signs, mainly because there isn't any reason not to. They make her smarter! Her new favorites are: please, fish, up, airplane, deer, lion, and tiger.

Send him some mail!

So, erase whatever you had written down from my previous posts as Asa's address. Here is the real one, that is written just the way you should write it.

PV2 Vermeulen
3rd PLT SAINTS
A CO., 35th ENGR BN
Fort Leonard Wood, Mo 65473

While Asa was home, he asked me to make a How To video and post it here for anyone who is confused. So, I hope this helps!

Untitled from Jillian Shaw on Vimeo.

Saying Goodbye, for now

We had to get up pretty early to make it to the airport in time for Asa's flight home. We packed up the car and got Marley ready to go, as Asa said goodbye to everything in the house and made sure he had everything he needed. He started out driving, but quickly got tired and I had to drive the rest of the way while he slept. Surprisingly, Marley didn't sleep at all. She really wanted to, but the sun was in her eyes and she just couldn't relax. So, it took about 20 plays of "Single Ladies" for Emily to keep her content in the back seat.
I just don't think it really hit me at all that day. If it had, I would have been way more emotional when we were doing things like getting out of the car at the airport or walking as a family into the airport. I had read on an Army website that sometimes they will allow families of soldiers to come through security and go all the way back to the gate to see them leave. But with everything that had happened recently with airport security, we didn't know if it still applied. We had to wait in a line for about 45 minutes to get his ticket. The lady at the Southwest counter was so sweet and she gave us a pass for me, Emily, and Marley to go to the gate with him. As we walked to the security line with everyone else, one of the security guards pulled open the rope for the Special People line and let us through! So, that saved a lot of time and patience!

We decided to stop for lunch at this point and found a nice burger place to eat. Marley figured out she likes ketchup and ate it by the fork-full. We finished our lunch and the waiter brought us our ticket. As Emily was getting out the cash to pay for lunch, our waiter came back and said "The gentleman at table 101 would like to pay for your lunch!" We have never had anything like that happen before, we were completely stunned! It is things like that that get me really emotional about the Army. That guy didn't know if Asa had been to war yet or that he just joined the Army two months ago. It didn't matter to him, because just the fact that Asa joined the Army was enough for him to be thankful for Asa and show how important he thinks every member of the military is. It meant a lot to me, and I could tell Asa was just gleaming. He knows I am proud of him, but for a complete stranger to be proud of him is something he had never felt before. And I could tell it made him a little more proud of himself.

At this point, Marley's mood started to decline. We found the gate and sat there for a while trying to make her happy but we finally had to walk laps with her until she fell asleep. She passed out on my shoulder and she was able to take a 20 minute nap before something woke her up. I hoped that the short nap would make a difference in her mood, but it did not. I tried everything to get her to go back to sleep because Asa's flight was delayed and we had a while to wait. But she wouldn't go back to sleep. Emily took her on errands and we played more Beyonce videos for her, but we finally reached the point where there wasn't anything we could do. We just needed to get her in the car and on the way home so she could go to sleep.So, we gathered our things and Asa walked us to the turn to leave the airport. We walked as slowly as we could, trying to savor those last moments together before we left. We walked through the Discovery Channel store and looked at all of the Life is Good products they sell.
But then it was time to go, as we realized it was actually much later than we thought and Asa's plane would be boarding soon.But Marley just couldn't get past the bad mood. I knew it wasn't her fault and she didn't understand that this was her last chance to see her Daddy for a long time. But it still broke my heart that she was in such a miserable mood. We really couldn't find anything that made her happy. All Asa wanted was a kiss and a hug from her, but she would even cooperate for that. It still makes me sad. But he knows she loves him and that any other time she would have done it. So hopefully he remembers those times when he thinks about her!

I hugged and kissed him goodbye and then we all walked away at the same sad time. As we walked toward the security area, there was a small opening that everyone has to go through. There are signs posted on each side that say "This is the point of no return." For some reason that was so heart-breakingly serious for me, that I just fell apart right there. I walked though it without pausing, but it hurt.

Who knows when we will see him again. It could be graduation at the beginning of April or if we get lucky and he has a weekend pass at some point, then we could fly up to Missouri and see him then. But either way, it will be a long, difficult wait in which we miss him every day.