So long big brother.....

My brother left this morning for an 18 hour flight to South Korea. He will be there for a year, no breaks to come home and visit. He was in a rut in his life and felt he needed a complete change, something new and challenging so he's off to teach English to elementary school kids in South Korea. He's my only sibling and we don't have any cousins (or aunts or uncles or grandparents for that matter) so it sucks he'll be gone for so long. Family functions around these parts are very quiet as it is so his presence will be greatly missed.
I've reminded myself that many families, including pregnant wives, have to say good bye to their loved ones for longer periods of time while they go off to war torn places like Iraq where their lives are in danger everyday. So really, teaching at a school in South Korea for a year isn't such a big deal. It will be really weird to not see him for a whole year though. It sucks that my kiddos will go so long without him. Lindsey will remember him but Zoey certainly won't and the newest baby won't even meet him until she's 7 months old. Anywho, I'm sure he'll be fine and grow from the experience, just as long as those crazy North Koreans don't pull any stunts. I know, I know calling ALL North Koreans crazy is a prejudice thing to say but seriously, that country is FUCKED UP! If you don't know anything about North Korea there is this great documentary on PBS about it and I'm telling you that is the most INSANE little universe those poor North Koreans are living in. Yikes.