Tuesday morning at 2:00 am I woke to a phone call from my husband. He was in Ireland, on his way home. I didn't get back to sleep after that phone call; I was too busy tossing and turning with the knot in my stomach growing bigger and bigger. I made sure to keep busy all day long. Mike was predicted to arrive at 5:45 pm which meant a LONG day for me. I vacuumed my car, cleaned my car, got an oil change in my car, went grocery shopping, prepared food, and when I was finished with all of these tasks it was time to take a shower and get ready.
I followed another military wife on base to the flight terminal where the plane would be landing and was shocked when I walked into the building! There were people... hundreds of people, metal detectors, refreshments. The place was abuzz with excitement. We all stood in this large room for about 15 minutes before the doors opened and they allowed us to walk out onto the runway. Outside, there was a Marine Corps band playing patriotic tunes. People were waving American flags and Welcome Home signs.. news cameras were flashing their bright lights in people's faces, and we watched.. and waited.. for the plane to make its appearance on the scene. I saw a girl about 12 holding a sign that said "Welcome Home, Dad, you're my HERO" -- which brought a momentary wave of the possibility of breaking down into tears -- but I managed to quickly recover. There was no time to be sentimental; I was too busy watching for that damn plane!!!
When the plane finally made its appearance onto the scene, it was as if we had just spotted Superman flying in the sky. People yelled, "There it is!!" and everyone let out a loud cheer! The plane opened its doors and Marines started to pile out. I watched anxiously as I noticed one face after another that I did not recognize. Finally, I saw some of my friends' husbands walking all together and I yelled to them that there were their husbands.. and off they ran to greet them. Meanwhile, I still waited, searching each face. As each moment passed without success, I began to become a little unsure of myself, "What if I didn't recognize him?" And then, there he was. Was there anything about him that took me by surprise? Yes. His walk. I had forgotten that he moved in a way that was truly unique to only him.
It wasn't exactly how I had imagined it. I had to push through the people to get to him.. it seemed like forever after I spotted him before I was actually next to him. We didn't say anything; we just hugged, and then kissed. and then hugged again. When we finally made it back to the car, it was as if someone did a huge rewind in my life and we were back right where we started seven months ago. It's strange how seven months of my life that at times seemed so neverending and heartwrenching could be so easily forgotten. I guess it's kind of like how a mother feels after childbirth. Childbirth is painful and difficult, but when the mother sees her baby all thoughts of pain are washed away and all she sees is her beautiful baby. That's how it was with me. All that crap that went on over those seven months, all the tears that I shed, all those moments of heartache and loneliness were gone. erased. forgotten. And what was left was my husband and me driving home in our Jeep talking, laughing. Completely in sinc, completely comfortable, completely happy. :)
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Counting Down
It seems as though I blinked my eyes and found myself here. Where is here? Here is the ability to count the HOURS until my reunion with my husband. As with all things in my life lately, this, too, seems surreal. I don't yet fully believe that I will be hugging him in the near future.. but there is certainly a part of me that believes it. Or, atleast, believes something is going to be happening in the near future. I know this because I have this constant anxious knot in the pit of my stomach. This is the knot that keeps me from sleeping in in the morning (boo!).
I was talking to a fellow wife today, and she was telling me the woes of all the different wives rushing around to prepare for the homecoming. And, I said, "We've had 7 months to prepare for this day, yet somehow it managed to sneak up on us anyway." The truth of it is that it was the fires. Time sped by and life picked up and before I knew it I was receiving a call from my husband telling me he had officially left Iraqi soil. If I think about that too long and too hard, I'm sure to start crying. But, I don't seem to have time for tears at the moment.. so I will just rejoice in the knowledge that he will be home with me soon.
Life is a crazy thing. Seven months at times seemed neverending. But, now, looking back, it doesn't seem that seven months could possibly have passed since I hugged him goodbye in April.
Going into this deployment, I was most afraid of living this life alone. And while it certainly has been no picnic, I have found that strength that I hoped I would. I believe I have changed.. and grown.. a great deal over these months. I believe Hubby has as well. For the past 6 years (and then some) we have done all of our growing together. This was an interesting time where we did that growing apart. We both faced challenges of great magnitude that we were forced to deal with on our own terms. When he comes home, I have no doubt that we will easily pick up where we left off and continue our growing together once more.
I wonder if I will cry when I hug him for the first time. I wonder if there will be anything about him that I had briefly forgotten, anything that will take me by surprise at first. I wonder if he will look different to me.. I wonder if he will sound different.. I wonder if there will be a new word that he uses often... or a new joke that he likes to laugh about. I wonder if we will have so many things to say that we won't know where to begin.. I wonder if we will just automatically fall into our normal relationship or if things will be "polite" for a little while. I wonder so many things. I am so filled with excitement and anxiousness. I am ready for this homecoming though, so very ready.
So what if the pool is still black, the grass needs mowed, and the cars need washed. I have a feeling that there could be trash all over the floor and dirty laundry hanging from the lights and Hubby wouldn't even notice. He will be so excited to be back at his home with his dogs and his wife that nothing else will matter. :O)
I was talking to a fellow wife today, and she was telling me the woes of all the different wives rushing around to prepare for the homecoming. And, I said, "We've had 7 months to prepare for this day, yet somehow it managed to sneak up on us anyway." The truth of it is that it was the fires. Time sped by and life picked up and before I knew it I was receiving a call from my husband telling me he had officially left Iraqi soil. If I think about that too long and too hard, I'm sure to start crying. But, I don't seem to have time for tears at the moment.. so I will just rejoice in the knowledge that he will be home with me soon.
Life is a crazy thing. Seven months at times seemed neverending. But, now, looking back, it doesn't seem that seven months could possibly have passed since I hugged him goodbye in April.
Going into this deployment, I was most afraid of living this life alone. And while it certainly has been no picnic, I have found that strength that I hoped I would. I believe I have changed.. and grown.. a great deal over these months. I believe Hubby has as well. For the past 6 years (and then some) we have done all of our growing together. This was an interesting time where we did that growing apart. We both faced challenges of great magnitude that we were forced to deal with on our own terms. When he comes home, I have no doubt that we will easily pick up where we left off and continue our growing together once more.
I wonder if I will cry when I hug him for the first time. I wonder if there will be anything about him that I had briefly forgotten, anything that will take me by surprise at first. I wonder if he will look different to me.. I wonder if he will sound different.. I wonder if there will be a new word that he uses often... or a new joke that he likes to laugh about. I wonder if we will have so many things to say that we won't know where to begin.. I wonder if we will just automatically fall into our normal relationship or if things will be "polite" for a little while. I wonder so many things. I am so filled with excitement and anxiousness. I am ready for this homecoming though, so very ready.
So what if the pool is still black, the grass needs mowed, and the cars need washed. I have a feeling that there could be trash all over the floor and dirty laundry hanging from the lights and Hubby wouldn't even notice. He will be so excited to be back at his home with his dogs and his wife that nothing else will matter. :O)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)