My grandfather is in the military. He's been a part of the military for a little over six years. Will I ever get to see him again? I spend most of my days sitting on the window sill of my bedroom and my mom is always out front gardening. I have a great view of her from where I sit and she has a great view of me too.

She sees me, she notices me, she notices my pain and my weeping, she sees notices it all. Tears fill the brim of my eyes and I can't help but let them escape one by one as I think of all the memories I had with my grandfather before he enlisted.

"Can I come in?"

A voice calls out to me from the other side of the door, followed by gentle knocks. I nod, although she can't see me, "Yes."

I call out weakly. My mom opens the door slowly and slowly closes it behind her, "Theo..is it about my dad? I know you were close to him but it'll be okay. Do you want to talk about it?"

She asks in a gentle voice. She is right. I'm only close to my mother than I am my father, so I've always been close to my grandfather on my mother's side than my father's.

"It's just not fair. I miss him so much, it's been over six years, nearly seven. Will he ever come back? What if he never comes back?"

I practically choke on my sobs as my mom holds me tightly in her warm embrace, "Once in a blue moon."

I wipe my tears with the back of my hand and I look up at her, "What?"

I ask. She beams at me, "This can be our little saying. It will mean that something happens very rarely."

"What's the point of it?"

"Well..it's a reminder that things can take a long time to happen.. but it doesn't mean it's impossible, so it may seem impossible for your grandfather to come back but it's not. It just means that it may take him a little longer to come back.. not entirely impossible."

I nod at her words. Even if he doesn't come back–I'll still hold on to our saying. 'Once in a blue moon.'

_ Many years later.. _

He never came back.

The words**–**_I’m sorry to say, Arthur is dead._

_ _That phone call will forever haunt me in my dreams, and even in my many years left in fact.

I was sad. But I finally learned to accept my reality. As I'm sitting by grandfather's grave, I tell how hopeful I was for him to come back. He would have been proud of me for being strong and hopeful**–being hopeful is the only thing I can do now.**

** I smile gently to myself as I remember my mother's reminder. Maybe one day, we'll all be reunited again. I whisper softly to myself, "Once in a blue moon." **