I am lucky enough to be home with my small immediate family this morning. I spent most prior to this in basic training, deployed on a military mission, working

I am lucky enough to be home with my small immediate family this morning. I spent most prior to this in basic training, deployed on a military mission, working in federal prisons, or some other seemingly less-than-desirable place. I grew to enjoy some of those days. There was a type of camaraderie amongst the folks that drew that short straw- and it was widely accepted that we were just there 'to put out fires.' Often times we would get a short visit from 'higher ups' and get that few seconds to connect on a more personal level. It drew out a bit of a different side from the 'extra alpha' types of some of these places that I used to work. Not that any of that is better than being with family- just an added perspective. Happy holidays!