Deployments suck. We can all agree on that. But what we may not be able to agree on is how deployments change people. We, hopefully, learn a lot about ourselves during deployment. I learned that I am stronger than I ever thought I could be and maybe you did too.

As our sweet soldiers return, we find that they have changed too. They may have become callused to what we know as everyday life. They may have a physical injury, a mental injury or even an addiction of one sort or another.

But the truth as I see it is, "I want to be where you {as my spouse} are." I want to reconnect with you. I want to help us become a functioning family unit again. I want to show you that you are still a part of the family no matter what.

I encourage you, no matter where you and your sweet soldier are, to take him or her by the hand and have a genuine conversation about where you are. It may be uncomfortable, but I think it will be worth it.

I used this song a few weeks ago, but something occurred to me on my run this morning. There are a lot of songs on my playlist that repeat and mostly that is because it is a song that encourages me when I feel like giving up.

So please listen to this song as my encouragement to you, sweet friend. Once we have muddled through this point and we have really connected with our spouse and dealt with the snakes in all of our heads, "There won't be any hearts breaking again. This is the part where I stay where I stand. Oh, I want to be where you are and I'm willing to get there."

Strength and Courage ... sby