Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Day 49: Homecoming

After two and a half weeks of travel, I'm finally home. I loved the visiting, but especially the last week with the boys and the friends and the holiday. I'm tired. It was just a long vacation. I was ready for a couple of slow lazy days, but two rambunctious tweens and one walkabout 14 month old were not interested and we were pretty much jam packed the entire last week of vacation. Yesterday we were out on the lake in the pontoon boat. We were busy. I can't believe my MIL and SFIL are taking a few days to take a little trip together after almost three weeks of company. I just came home and sat down. I spent most of the evening trying to stay awake and gradually unpack.

It was a long day and I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, but it wasn't too horrible. Lil Bit is still sleeping most of the flight and was pretty good. She was a bit crankier now that she is walking and was cooped up all day. I've got getting our boarding passes, checking bags, and getting through security down to a science. I even had my flights scheduled so that I just walked from one plane to diaper change onto next plane. We got on our first flight at 11 and were home by 2:30. If it weren't for the long drive to the airport and the anticipation of long security lines (no lines at all), it would have been a shorter travel day.

The hardest part was the last leg. When I got to the gate at DFW, I noticed a large group of soldiers. While seeing soldiers flying into Fort Hood isn't odd, a large group together is unusual. We smushed onto this very small airplane with crappy air conditioning and headed for home. The extremely warm temperatures cause a lot of turbulence especially for small, low-flying planes. It was really a rough flight from start to finish. I was sick the whole way. I was doing all I could not to throw up on the baby for 40 minutes. I was sweating profusely and shaking all over. I almost couldn't keep holding the baby because my arms were weak. I was so glad that she slept through it all. If she'd been squirming and fussing, I wouldn't have been able to deal.

But I was energized by the soldiers who literally surrounded me on the plane. They all wore the same Brave Rifles patch on their shoulders, meaning they are in 3rd ACR, my husband's regiment. I asked them if they were coming home just today. One of the soldiers said they were the Torch Party for 3rd ACR.

The Torch Party! That means they are returning to light the torch, pave the way, etc. for the return of 3rd ACR. While that doesn't mean my husband is coming home any sooner, it is a very concrete sign that he is coming home! I was surrounded by men who may or probably didn't have much actual contact with my husband, but were part of his mission in Operation New Dawn. Lil Bit kept reaching for the soldiers. She recognizes the material of the uniform from her daddy bear.

It was just neat to share our homecoming (despite the bumpy ride) with the men who are a part of Chad's regiment. I know they had a rough trip. Every leg of their journey was delayed and then the last plane ride sat on the runway without working A/C and ended up being awful. But they knew that when they landed, they'd be home. It was so exciting to get off the plane and see the people waiting for the disembarking soldiers. I saw one woman holding a very tiny little baby waiting for his dad.

It was a great way to end my vacation. Now I can spend the next three weeks or so getting ready for my guy's turn!!

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