Blondie

Calm day at the office. No requests flooding my inbox and my phone isn't ringing off the hook.

In fact, the only call I've received today was from Blondie. Our grandfather hadn't heard from her in awhile and was worried about her. Last night I called the only number I had for her and explained the situation to the Soldier who answered the phone. She called Grandpa, and then she called me: "I had told you that number was for emergencies, and they told me that you called and I thought something bad had happened!" Hey, it was better than having the Red Cross call.

Her unit is being extended, which basically means that we'll be home at about the same time. It's sad, because she really does want to get home to be with family, but it's good for her too. She needs the money. She needs the experience. And they're telling her that she'll be able to get a pass -- finally. Want to guess what that means? Blondie and Techno causing all sorts of craziness in the desert. It's been much too long.

When I spoke last with Grandpa to let him know that Blondie was going to call soon, I made the comment that it was good that she and I were in the same place. His reply? "You're too far apart."

My cousin is on the other side of a border that I will never see. We're both thousands of miles away from home, probably less than a few hundred miles away from each other. I haven't seen her in over a year. And I don't know when I'll see her again.