Dear Ed,

Well, today was yet another long day. Antonia is doing well in school, but misses you deeply. Nicholas is learning to talk more and more daily, and his speech therapist says that by the time you return he should be saying sentences. And baby Noah has five teeth now.

It is so weird not to have you here to share all these memories. Life here is not the same without you. I want to get up some nights and come downstairs to find out why you haven’t come to bed yet, or drive by the unit and find out why it is that you didn’t come home for lunch. I go to the doctors’ appointments, school functions and conferences and it doesn’t seem real that you are not here to share this with me.

I believe I grew into the security of the fact that, the majority of the time, you were here. So now I take the garbage out biweekly, as I forget the other times. And I hate to tell you, but your clean garage is overfilled with recyclable stuff as I never remember to take those out.

Three kids is truly hard, but I am making it, and I’m very proud of myself that we are all doing OK and that I have accomplished a lot on my own. Know that I am proud of you. I know you don’t want to miss special family moments, but you are doing a wonderful job. Your children get a gleam in their eyes when they say proudly that their daddy is “fighting the bad guys.”

Please stay safe, keep us in your heart and your mind on your mission. We are here waiting for you, and we love you.

Hurry home.

Love from my heart and soul,
Holly