Our life as an Army family definitely has a way of cutting our knees out from under us, but it also gives back from time to time. My children have strong personalities. They are not easily swayed to abandon their convictions. They know how to enjoy the tiny pieces of happiness life throws in their direction. To the Army I give the credit for those gifts. I think that life can be summed up by accepting that we are all just existing from one great moment to the next. There are deployments, casualties, PCS’s and melt downs in between the memorable moments, sure. If there weren’t hardships, how could we ever appreciate the good stuff?
I know that a homecoming is in our near future. We have more days in this deployment behind us than in front of us. I know what seeing Chris step onto that tarmac feels like. I remember holding my Thomas as he spotted that plane in the air and then swoop around to land. I can still taste the tears that dripped from his eyes onto my face as he cried. He had never been so overjoyed. It was cold the day that Chris returned from Iraq. It was bitterly cold to be completely honest. We were a little irritated and a lot tired. For two weeks, the day of Chris’ return continued to change, hurling our emotions back and forth like the Scrambler at the State Fair. As we heard the tires scream to a halt on the runway, the cold didn’t matter. The lack of sleep disappeared. We concentrated on one task. We had to find Chris amongst that sea of soldiers. We had to lay our eyes on him and reassure ourselves that he had ten fingers and ten toes and both ears. We needed to touch him to make sure he was really home. I know what a homecoming feels like. I also know that day is worth more than most of all my moments compiled. I cannot wait. To hell with not counting the days! I think I will pull out that calendar and start drawing enormous red X’s across each day until next spring.
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