The first stage is denial.

*******

It’s no big deal, really. Bill is TDY for a few days. He hasn’t been away for quite some time – a month, perhaps. I don’t even have time to miss him, and, in fact, I get less done when he’s away because he calls me and I have trouble folding laundry with a phone in my ear.

But this isn’t just any TDY. He’s off doing a meet-and-greet with the unit with which he’s supposed to deploy in the not-too-distant future. This is the beginning of the physical process of deploying. Next, my home will begin to resemble an Army surplus store – a disorganized Army surplus store – with piles of tan camo colored gear in every corner. Then there will be the stacks of Army paperwork in official looking folders mixed with not-so-official looking reams of loose computer printouts of packing lists and other information.

But, it’s no big deal. That’s all another day. Right now, he’s just away for a bit. He’ll be home before we really miss him.

Right.