21 JAN 26

They're practicing heavy bravery as big brother hikes on the Army backpack to walk out the door that morning... there's no time for long goodbyes according to military paperwork... so only I will bring him to the office for drop-off... hugs for each of them before we leave...

Arrive a few minutes early... Puck pulls his stuff out of the trunk but then pauses for a hug... “I'm so proud of you... love you” // “Love you... see you in two months”...

The house is weird now of course... kids are blue in their different ways... quiet hours while they find distractions... dog snoring in blankets on the floor...

But they need something else by mid-afternoon... so it's the park for them to run it out while Oxbear and I wait in the van out of the cold... Oxbear reading aloud about things like kite fighting and taming wild hummingbirds...

Then Wally's for things like fish sandwiches and apple juice...

Puck texts "love you Mom" and "love you Dad" driving towards home in the dark...

Then Patience... though glum... hits the studio with friends for ninety minutes late into the evening...

And after thirteen-plus hours waiting at the USO... Puck and fellow recruits are finally bussed down to the fort arriving in the early hours of the morning for the Army National Guard's own version of “hell week”....