This deployment brought to you in part by ...

I think it is time I thanked all the people who helped me through the whole 28-month, 5-day separation that was this deployment.

• My wonderfully supportive parents, who made several trips out here to help me, who answered all my phone calls and listened to me whine and cry, and gave me great advice when I needed it.
• My sister and nephew, who liked to entertain me with weekend morning phone calls.
• Jack Bauer's parents, who gave us such a supportive gift, the depths of which are beyond words.
• The BFF, who always listened to me and distracted me well, and her family who treated me as one of their own.
• The vet, who helped me through going from a 4-kid family to a 3-kid family, operated on the kids, saw us through a couple of crazy doggie illnesses, waived his fees on more than one occasion, always asked how Jack was doing.
• The ladies at Three Dog Bakery, who always told me about the doggies calling in and complaining that they weren't getting enough treats.
• The therapists, gosh, I learned a lot about myself.
• The pilates instructors, who taught me that exercise can be fun and funny and who pushed me to the next level.
• The ladies at the Origins counter, who taught me a lot about make-up and got me having fun with make-up again and taking better of my skin.
• The super secret boss for listening to me much more than any man I am not related to ever should and for giving me a great opportunity to expand my career horizon.
  
• The doggies for keeping me grounded and keeping it all so real. (Easily could write a book titled, "Everything I ever needed to know I learned from my dogs".)
  
• Jack Bauer for being the greatest husband I could ever wish for, for listening to me, for putting up with all my spouting about (and adopting some of) my self-improvement, for willing to grow with me, for willing to communicate with me, for willing to be himself when it could have been easier to shut up and shut down.
• And, of course, you, my readers who have opened me to a new world of virtual support and sisterhood that is more tangible than anything else I have encountered, offering me words of encouragement, for laughing and crying with me. Thank you, my friends.

As with most thank you speeches, I am sure I missed someone. There are so many people that touched my life of the past 2+ years, good and bad, but I have learned from them all, and to me, that's what matters. For that is how I got to be me today.