Missing You

Moving... Again

"Why? Why do we have to move again?!" I cry to my mother. I already know just what she'll say. The same thing she said the last 8 times we've moved.

"Look, Leah. I know this isn't easy for you. To keep moving. To have to make friends again and again. And leave friends again and again. But your father has to do this."

She turned around to finish packing away all the picture frames. She picked the one of my dad in his military uniform. I could see tears form in her eyes. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her. She burst out crying. What we both knew but didn't want to say was that my dad was probably going to have to go overseas to fight.

We both stood there for a while crying in each other's arms. My mom was the first to break away.

"I'm really sorry Leah, I'm really sorry," she said, her voice cracking.

"Mom. It's okay. Really. I have to go finish packing my room."

I ran up the stairs, thoughts running through my mind. About my dad. What if he loses his leg? Or arm? What if he dies? That was the scariest thought of them all. You know what Leah? Stop. Stop stop stop stop stop.

Just thinking like that gave me a head ache.

When I finally reached my room I realized for the first time how empty it was. It was really hard to believe that in 1 week I won't be living here anymore. In fact I would be moving across the whole country. Fort Irwin, California to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. That would be 2580 miles. 41 hour drive. That's where I have lived for as long as I can remember. Military Base, after military base.

I picked up my stuffed frog. "Bye Hoppy! See you in North Carolina!" I was talking to my stuffed animals. I jammed him into the already full box, taped it up, wrote 'LEAH'S BEDROOM' in all caps and stacked it onto the already too high pile of boxes and collapsed onto my bed. I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly.