no. 233 out of sight

walking into the shoppette just now
a song
was playing that made me stop.
for a minute i was singing along
but my head was somewhere else
thinking of my life
as it was
in another place
and
in another time...

short version-

i know that life passes us by.
i know that while we are gone
we are
out of sight.

and i know that often
out of sight
does mean
out of mind

even to the closest of friends
even to the most important people
even to the family you thought you could never be without.

i know.
i understand.
i get the big picture.

but the big picture isn't the immediate picture
particularly for our children
who are dealing with the heavy reality of saying goodbye.
saying goodbye because it is PCS season in our world

that's the unavoidable time when soliders and their families leave for new duty posts...a Permanent Change of Station.
but really, to military kids and their friends, who know better-
nothing is permanent
and this is just a move
to a new place
far away
from the life you work so hard to create for yourself
in spite of where the military sends you.

in a perfect situation
our children would have:
lived in one community
gone to a single elementary school
experienced preteen angst and upset in one middle school
captured four years of high school
lived in one community.

but they haven't
and they won't
and for every hard goodbye
i pray for a soft hello.

it's as simple and as complicated as that.
we miss you all

kisses and wishes
hope and virtue
umarmen und lieben
e