Europa

August 1, 2048

Here we are, one week till the launch. I've made sure to video call home every single day, as once we are in the ship, we will no longer be able to have real time communication with our families. The further you get from Earth the longer it takes to send and receive a message, making phone calls and video calls more and more impossible the further we go. Still, I will be able to send letters, videos, and pictures and I've reminded Dad countless times to do the same. Even when I go under cryogenic sleep, I have asked that he continue to send regular photos so that I can feel as if I somewhat witnessed Diego growing up.

It's kind of crazy. In what will feel like just over two years for me Diego will be thirteen. Just the thought of that blows my mind. It also breaks my heart that he will not hear for me for 6 years. I truly am a horrible mother.

Most of the crewmembers who are leaving family behind have spent a lot of their time talking to family members. Out of all of us Captain Hunt and Second Lieutenant Adams seem to be handling it the best. Adams, who was leaving his wife behind, pointed out that while this mission would certainly be longer than any mission he served on before, his wife and parents were used to him leaving for extended time. It is part of the military lifestyle.

I could not imagine what leaving him must have been like for her. To be honest I don't think I've ever been in a relationship that was meant to lead to marriage. I guess I have never really met the right person. Dad always points out that I never really allow myself enough time to meet a man with all the hours I work, but to me that has never been my focus. The longest relationship I'd ever been in had only lasted a few months and that was with Diego's father Alex, and while we had fun, he surely wasn't husband material. Still, it must really sting to love someone to the point you swear to spend the rest of your life with them only for them to leave on a mission for eleven and a half years. I give Adam's wife credit for opting to stay along for the ride. To his credit there probably aren't many guys out there who are funnier.

Hunt has been super quiet about leaving Earth behind. To be honest I don't know much about if he even has a family. He doesn't even open up about that stuff, despite the fact the rest of us have.

Lee hasn't opened up either, but I don't really know if he ever had much of a family. If he does have one, leaving them behind doesn't seem to faze him much at all. Apparently though, a lot of his close friends are people he met online playing video games, so his way of saying goodbye has been playing nonstop. I don't know if I'm just getting old, but I feel like my eyes would bleed if I looked at a screen as long as he does.

Richard has also spent a lot of the time on the phone, making sure everything about his father's healthcare and estate is taken care of. He wants to make sure everything is settled and there is no family drama. A death in a family can split a family apart. He did not need to deal with that in space. While he remained hopeful, the truth was it was all, but certain Richard would be an orphan by the time we awoke from cryogenic sleep. While the cancer was in remission the chemo had done a total on his father and the doctors were unsure what the next steps would be.

I don't know if I would be able to leave if Dad was in the hospital. I'm sure it makes it easier for Richard that his father told him not to waste his life waiting for him to die.

Horvat has told us there is also a lot of family business he will be missing in order to take on this mission, but his family situation is a lot more upbeat. His eldest daughter was finally getting married to her longtime boyfriend. He only wished the young man would have popped the question sooner so that he would be able to walk his daughter down the aisle. Still, he was filled with joy for her, although I'm sure there was a little guilt there too.

I think it's harder to leave kids behind. As a parent you have a duty to look after them and protect them no matter what. I've always felt the love you feel for your child is greater than the love you feel for your parents. I've heard that before and I didn't think it was true until I had Diego. Sorry Dad.

Jenifer seemed upset to leave, but she also felt like she didn't really have anyone on Earth to really call. She seemed to regret that deeply.

In our little girl gossip sessions back during the lock-in drill she had never really mentioned much about her life, but now she told me how her family ties had been shattered after her last mission. She returned from Mars to find that her ex-husband had cheated on her with her sister, and they had secretly had a child together. They hadn't even bothered to tell her while she was in space, as if they were just hoping she'd never come back. I can't even begin to imagine that hurtful that was. She added that back home she didn't even really have friends to rely on and talk about what happened because she had committed herself so much to work and the mission. It was really sad to hear. Here I was depressed about leaving my family, and her biggest regret was that she didn't have much of a family or friends to leave behind.

I assured her that when we landed on Earth at the end of this mission, I would be there for her. That went for all the members of this crew. We were a family now, whether we liked it or not.