J may be coming home soon! Ortho said he needed physical therapy. Physical therapy said he needed surgery. But what they can both agree on is that there's no easy to fix for his knees so it's time to move on. It's time to come home. Hopefully job prospects stay promising and PT works at improving knee stability and we can close this chapter in our life story and be a family all the time.

Speaking selfishly, it was AMAZING when he comforted and soothed our sick baby in the middle of the night this past visit so I could rest. That doesn't happen at home. No night-time parenting support since she was a month old. She's 16 months now. Looking back on it, I really don't know how I made it through this very long, very exhausting year. Conversely, I cannot imagine the mix of feelings a parent must feel who is ordered to leave his wife and kids. Don't feel guilty, babe. That's all I ask. Please. Feel sad if you must but don't beat yourself up. You are a great dad and your girls love you so very much. You don't have to make up for time lost or things missed because there is no going back in time. It is what it is and thankfully we are almost on the flip side.