Daddy has a pair of boots that look like they have walked a million miles.

When he laces them up, it means he is going away for a while to do an important job. And a small boy learns what every military child learns sooner than he should: how to be brave, and how to hold love close across a lot of miles.

This is a story for the ones who stay behind. The ones who count days on a calendar. The ones who sleep with something that still smells like home.

It does not pretend the waiting is easy. It says the true thing gently, in words a young child can carry, and it ends where every family that waits hopes to end.

A tender tribute to the children of those who serve, and to every family that waits.

Part of the Silver Lined Dreams series from Minton Legacy Publishing, written for military families by an author whose own family has served on both sides.

Full color throughout. Written for ages 4 to 8, to be read together.