1 And Birdie heads back to Afghanistan in April.

2 Military families are the least likely of all to EVER forget that the war doesn't end upon our own soldiers' return. For most married to career soldiers, our loved ones (and ourselves) haven't had time to get settled back into regular life before being told they are heading back. For military spouses, while we adjust to being together again with the one we love, we must also start the often emotionally trying time of pre-deployment too. I'm personally finding it to be a rollercoaster all it's own. Military families of today know war. We know it like no history book could have ever prepared us for. We know the fear, the lonliness, the heartbreak and we know it well. We know grief as we mourn the loss of our friends who didn't make it home. We do not however, ever forget that a war is on. Civilians may have that pleasure. We, however, carry our nation's sacrfice on our shoulders and in our hearts. And even when this war does end, I find it highly unlikely most of us will ever forget any of it.