How do you say goodbye for two and a half years?

A little less than 3 weeks until we shove off for a really, really long time.

The other night I had to say goodbye -- REALLY goodbye -- to my dad and stepmom, as I won't see them again before we go. This was my first REAL goodbye before this very long journey we are undertaking.

What do you say? I didn't know. It felt really awkward. And wrong. No words seemed appropriate. I mean, I'm trying to not be overdramatic here.

But we're talking TWO AND A HALF YEARS.  Holy moley.

What are the appropriate words, do you think?

"See you around..."

"See you on around the bend..."

No, those just seem lame.

I honestly don't have a roadmap here. I don't know how to do it.
Families dealing with incarceration do.

I checked out a website for such families. Here is a great tip which I liked alot:

"Tell your loved ones: 'This is not forever. Only our love is.'" 

You know who else knows? Military families.

It's clear that in dealing with deployment, military families fall back on the idea that they are serving their country, and sacrifice is a part of the package. In short -- they buck up.

So that's what I will do. I will be brave. But there's still the problem of the words. What to say? I'm a "words" gal.

But you know what? I'm discovering that this is one of those times when there ARE no words. And that is as it should be.

                              There is only this:

                                          And this:

                                            And this:

                                      And this:

                                       No words...