Thankful for the time we had

If you listen closely, you can hear the sounds of my tears landing on the floor.  Our Party of Five was short but sweet. My older daughter headed back to the Marine Corps Base early this afternoon.  Everyone was so sad to see her go but the saddest goodbye was when my two girls said goodbye to one another.  They hadn't seen each other for five long months and having to say goodbye so soon after being reunited was tough.  No one likes to say goodbye to their best friend. The hugs lasted a long time and the tears fell. We are trying to remember that Christmas is right around the corner and we will all be together again soon.  Saying goodbye to my younger daughter today was equally as difficult. My son was so sad to see his sisters leave. My daughters were sad to be the ones leaving. We all know that the next goodbye will be the hardest.  Right after Christmas, my younger daughter will be off to Europe for 6 months and my older daughter will be stationed who knows where. I don't know when my girls will see each other again. I don't know when they will see their brother. I don't know when I will see my older daughter again. I don't know when the five of us will all be reunited again. It will be a long long time.  My girls were both thinking about how much they will miss each other when said their goodbyes today.  We were all thinking that.  We couldn't help it.  We know that the times we will be a "Party of Five" are quickly fading away. So for now, we are going to focus on Christmas and the extreme gratefulness we feel that we get to spend it together.  After that - what will be, will be.  All the sadness in the world and longing to be together can't change the reality of the situation. We will continue be grateful for every moment we have together. We will be happy for every second of family time we share and we will look forward to the time when we will all be together again.