Dear Keith,

You left at the end of October last year. I know that being deployed was something you always wanted to do, and I was happy to see your wish finally realized. Being a reservist involves a lot of waiting sometimes, and you'd waited long enough to put your knowledge and skills into use.

Having you so far away was cool at first because, you know, you can be really annoying sometimes! I also really liked having the gaming computer to myself. This was before I invested in a laptop, so I could hop on whenever I wanted to do schoolwork, write articles for Odyssey, or just play Fallout 4 and Sims 4. It was like a dream to not have Keith-induced drama blow up the household.

This time you have access to the internet, so it's been easier to stay in touch. And as nice as it was to have some distance between us at first, your empty bedroom became too quiet, and it became very apparent that you brought a special kind of light and laughter into the house that left when you went overseas.

I miss watching you play video games. I miss going to Swell Taco with you, and driving in your car, and just doing little things that didn't seem so important at the time. I realize now that our relationship has really transformed into something entirely different than what is was during our bickering childhoods. We don't have serious fights anymore and I'm 100 percent thankful for the change. You're a pretty okay guy. :)

I'm really proud of you, Keith, for all the maturing you've done and everything you've accomplished. I'm excited to welcome you home in July and go on vacation with you in August! I hope we can have many more adventures together, and I can't wait to see you in a month!

Love,

Your Sister