Goodbye Uncle Sam, Goodbye.

Thankfully, neither of us really have an Uncle Sam.

The 15th came and went uneventfully (for me- thanks to a migraine kicking my ass) and it wasn't until Ed's aunt emailed me the next day did I remember that I had missed Ed's last day of being indebted to the Army. His contract with them was officially up that day, and I wish like hell we would have celebrated. Balloons, party hats, noise makers- something! But still, the ever so important face remains- he's out. A huge chapter of our lives has closed. Closed, but not forgotten or recovered from quite yet.

I don't know that many in the military would celebrate the day their IRR ended (at least not that they'd admit- there's some kind of weird stigma attached to leaving- you have to be unhappy about it or else that somehow translates into you not feeling like your time in was 'worth it' or 'meant something'...) and although I'm sure it's slightly bittersweet for Ed, considering there's admittedly a part of him that would go back there in a heartbeat if it weren't for me or the kids, he's said he's glad to have that part of his life done with. There's a lot of healing left to do now.