My child has finally gone down for her nap. I had to bribe her with the promise of a trip to Tobolino’s, a nearby indoor playground, when she awakes. But before she finally closed her beautiful brown eyes, she said, “I have a tear. I miss Daddy.” Thank goodness he will be home soon for his mid tour “holiday”.

I noticed after I took this photo that there are a couple of important items in it, besides Bella and Charlie. There’s a photo pillow of me and Bella in January 2010, the morning I left for Afghanistan (with brief training stops in Norfolk and Ft. Lewis). There’s a 2002 war rug that Daddy brought home from his first trip to Afghanistan. And there’s the spotted stuffed dog that I used to mark Bella’s growth in that first year. The monthly photos with the spotted dog stopped after I deployed; Daddy was way too busy playing single parent to continue my crazy rituals beyond what was humanly possible.