When my oldest brother was 18, he joined the Army Reserve because he felt in his heart it was something he needed to do.  After college, marriage and a child, he reported for active duty.  When news of his second child came, he grew nervous to leave so he found a way to stay home for a bit longer.  After a couple years he became restless with his 9-5 and realized that he was missing something.  He explained to his family that it was in his heart to be in the military and in a flash he was back on active duty; he was deployed to Afghanistan last December.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of seeing my sister-in-law, nephew and niece.  It was amazing to see how much the kids have grown and yet slightly heartbreaking since I haven't been able to see them much since they are always so far away.  

I often wonder what effect my brother's absence has on the kids and this weekend I got a little taste of what that might be.  My other brother was home for the weekend and whenever he was in the room, the kids followed him around like he was God.  They wanted to play with him, go for car rides, help him fix the shower, etc.  I suppose the lack of male influence in the family takes some toll on my little niece and nephew.  I hope for all of our families that our military comes back safe so that our little ones can have their role models back.