Greetings, always followed quickly, by goodbyes

Last night, my Husband and two colleagues hosted cocktails for the officers on their ship to celebrate their recent promotions. They held it below, under the curved arches on the right side of the veranda.



Since the children and I are largely in New York while Josh is deployed or in Jacksonville, I rarely get to meet the people with whom he serves. As you know, we are coming up on the end of his stay here and last night made me wish there had been more time with these good and dedicated people. That is the nature of deployments and station changes, everyone seems to be on the way to another place. Maybe you have experienced this same sensation in your own circumstances: This hope that you will indeed speak to these people again and have the opportunity to know and consider their perspectives and fascinating experiences. My own career path around the world left me with much the same feeling for those I met professionally in jobs from which I moved on.

I am heartened though by two things. Firstly, a friend whom I truly respect will accompany her husband here this week where he will take command of a ship. In military circles, this is a very important milestone. BH bids the Commander good luck and God speed. It is lovely to know people whom you genuinely liked may return to someday, no?

Secondly, I was struck by the wealth and breath of charm, culture, and intellect at
last night's gathering. So much so, that I want to report to you from the front line of military familyhood, that I believe we are in good, decent, thoughtful, and capable hands which have known remarkable sacrifice and shouldered it unfailingly on our collective behalf. There were so many memorable people navigating about the place last night, I was lucky to be there too.

I want to thank them for defending a nation in an attentive and cerebral fashion: Contemplative, exacting, and determined. I like to think Hero Crushes Frank X. Castellano and Richard Phillips, and all my readers, would be proud.

Lastly, though, have you noticed how very few people read web blogs still? Quite remarkable since there is so very much more we could learn from one another in this new world.