Look Who's Home

  My sweetheart was once an army man. When we got married, he had been on active duty. Two-ish years later he got out and we started our lives as civilians. It was quite a transition going from one side of the barbed wire to the other. Still, I am thankful that I never had my sweetheart go off to war
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  Today's military families are almost guaranteed to be deployed. I have a dear friend whose family has experienced this. For almost a year her husband was in a desert, doing whatever the military told him to do. Of course, his time there was intense and life changing. It was the same in a different way for the family he left here as well.

  Finally, her man was coming home. For weeks, the day was changed, sometimes sooner, mostly later. Then the time kept changing, sometimes sooner, sometimes later. She was just a bit crazy at the end. Finally the day was here and she needed someone to take pictures for her. So here is a time line and a few pics of what happened that day.

10:00 am His plane lands at 3:45
11:30 am They just called, his plane lands at 1:45....ahhhhhhhh!
12:00 pm I get to her house and keep the children busy while she puts on the finishing touches. They made some awesome signs.

1:15 pm We left her house. There just happens to be a bus in front of us, could it be him? Nope, it turned.
1:30 pm We get to the gym and find some seats up front. There were coloring books and girl scout cookies provided to snack on while we waited. The big blue gym curtain comes down in the middle of the room.

1:45 pm They announce the plane is running late. My friend is about to pop.
2:15 pm We watch the plane land at the airfield on a screen in the front of the room
2:30 pm We watch as the soldiers file off the plane. Throughout the room we would hear little bursts of cheers as one family after another would catch sight of their soldier.
3:00 pm Continuing bursts of cheers and tears as more and more people see their soldiers as they sign their paperwork and turn in their gear. Still seen on the screen at the front of the room.
3:15 pm The army guy comes out and says time to wait, here watch this movie in a gym full of hyper excited children and adults. My friend is bouncing on her metal folding chair.

3:45 pm The guy comes out again and says this is what is going to happen. We can hear boots on the other side of the curtains. We have to all stay behind the yellow line. My friend squeezes me so hard that I think there is a bruise. I've never seen a yellow line so full of toes. My friends kids toes are on that yellow line.

I only knew the man for a few months before he left and I am still super excited.  I don't know how she can stand it.
3:55 pm The curtain goes up and there they stand.
And in the roar of the crowd I can hear my friend whispering to her family, there he is, third row on the end. The tears start flowing. He can see them too. He is flowing too.
4:00 pm The guy finally stops talking and dismisses the troops. My friend is just standing there.  The time has finally arrived. "Go, go, go!" I yell. They take off.

I am so blessed. The reunion of a family that has become a part of my own. Just so you know, giving a emotional menopausal woman a camera and asking her to take pictures is a bit crazy. I did get a few good ones.

  After the last picture, I said good-bye and slipped away. All around me families were laughing and crying. Soldiers were meeting their new little ones for the first time. Young lovers once again in each other's arms. All the way to the parking lot, families were holding on like they were never letting go.

  My family was one of many that was blessed with being able to support my friend. She came through this with flying colors. Her family weathered the experience with grace and courage. She inspires me in many ways. She allowed me to be a part of one of the most special days of both her and my life.