Last night at 8, we got a phone call that he was officially wheels up. So that meant he was on the plane!!! Finally!!! I felt relief immediately. I hadn't realized how much stress I was under with the constant changes and waiting until it was gone. He was on the plane, it was in the air, and he is coming home today!!
Really this entry should have been "De bus, de bus" because once they come in to the airport, they are herded onto big white buses. We sit and wait for the buses to arrive. We anxiously watch the soldiers file off the buses and into the ceremony area, fruitlessly trying to find our soldier in the crowd of ACU clad soldiers.
Last time he came home, I didn't see him until he was almost on top of us. His dad saw him first. They all look so much alike and you'd be surprised after a year, you forget if he was taller or shorter compared to his company, wonder if his face is really tan, trying to remember how he walks. I spend the entire time scanning for his face wondering if he is watching me look for him, but can't signal because he's in formation.
I always feel like such a loser because I can't find him. But he'll find me. I can't wait to see him, but I hate all the nervous waiting and driving onto post, sitting in the sun, waiting for hours. If he wouldn't be disappointed we weren't there with a giant sign welcoming him home, I would just swing by and pick him up.
At least this ceremony wasn't in the hot sun, like last time and we saw him as soon as he ran in. They had the guys run in with a smoke machine, which is really cheesy, but in the moment, was pretty cool. They were playing all sorts of upbeat music, of which my favorite had to be "It's Raining Men", which after a year of alone time, I could totally appreciate the sentiment.
It was a pretty overwhelming day. He just felt like everything was going a hundred miles an hour, and I did too. Usually, I'm all about having everyone here, but it was different tonight. I just felt like I had a million tiny, insignificant details that I wanted to tell him all at once. I wanted his opinion on the new dishes and the new furniture. I wanted to show him how nicely I arranged his clothes for him and how clean the house is. But he had so many people vying for his attention that he couldn't focus on just me.
He wanted to tell all sorts of stories, but with cooking, picking up, keeping up with three children and drinks, it was hard to follow what was going on. I didn't do any of the cooking, but I was trying to get knives or cutting boards or direct people toward spices or tools they needed. It kind of felt like the whole world was happening all at once. I wanted to talk to my sister-in-law, then MIL and then was also trying to referee a Kinect game and chase the baby.
It was a lot of activity. We both are just wiped out. He is sick on top of being exhausted and I feel just like I want to crawl into a cave and crash. I would give ANYTHING to be able to take a few days right now and just go away, me and him (no kids) and just relax. I am glad everyone is here and they are helping with cooking, cleaning and supervising of children, but after holding everything in for a year and then being so stressed and tense this week, we both can finally relax. All we want to do is sleep.
That's the truth of the return. While Chad pushed past his exhaustion most of the evening, he couldn't go much longer, so we asked the neighbors to leave and come back tomorrow. He took a hot bath and I washed his hair and scrubbed his back and rubbed his neck. We talked for a little while and then went to bed. I got back up so I could fill you in, dear reader.
He's home. The countdown is over. But I will continue to blog for awhile longer about the process of reintegrating. Tonight, it is can we sleep together again? I can hear his snoring already and I'm in the living room, so this might be dicey. But, the Beautyrest Mattress we got, doesn't move at all when you bounce on it or roll over, the pad I put on it is a cooling pad and adds just a little extra padding to a firm plush mattress that initially feels a bit more firm than plush. He's already asleep, but will I be able to sleep with the extra noise, heat, presence?
Tonight the lesson was KISS. Keep it simple stupid! We both had all our emotions invested in this day, in the moment, and then spent the day just fighting giving in to the tired feeling we both got once the stress was gone. We had just a little too much going on this evening. If Chad weren't sick, it might not have been so bad, but he was a little loopy from being so tired and I could barely keep my eyes open after three sleepless nights waiting for final word that he was on his way.
Really this entry should have been "De bus, de bus" because once they come in to the airport, they are herded onto big white buses. We sit and wait for the buses to arrive. We anxiously watch the soldiers file off the buses and into the ceremony area, fruitlessly trying to find our soldier in the crowd of ACU clad soldiers.
Last time he came home, I didn't see him until he was almost on top of us. His dad saw him first. They all look so much alike and you'd be surprised after a year, you forget if he was taller or shorter compared to his company, wonder if his face is really tan, trying to remember how he walks. I spend the entire time scanning for his face wondering if he is watching me look for him, but can't signal because he's in formation.
I always feel like such a loser because I can't find him. But he'll find me. I can't wait to see him, but I hate all the nervous waiting and driving onto post, sitting in the sun, waiting for hours. If he wouldn't be disappointed we weren't there with a giant sign welcoming him home, I would just swing by and pick him up.
At least this ceremony wasn't in the hot sun, like last time and we saw him as soon as he ran in. They had the guys run in with a smoke machine, which is really cheesy, but in the moment, was pretty cool. They were playing all sorts of upbeat music, of which my favorite had to be "It's Raining Men", which after a year of alone time, I could totally appreciate the sentiment.
It was a pretty overwhelming day. He just felt like everything was going a hundred miles an hour, and I did too. Usually, I'm all about having everyone here, but it was different tonight. I just felt like I had a million tiny, insignificant details that I wanted to tell him all at once. I wanted his opinion on the new dishes and the new furniture. I wanted to show him how nicely I arranged his clothes for him and how clean the house is. But he had so many people vying for his attention that he couldn't focus on just me.
He wanted to tell all sorts of stories, but with cooking, picking up, keeping up with three children and drinks, it was hard to follow what was going on. I didn't do any of the cooking, but I was trying to get knives or cutting boards or direct people toward spices or tools they needed. It kind of felt like the whole world was happening all at once. I wanted to talk to my sister-in-law, then MIL and then was also trying to referee a Kinect game and chase the baby.
It was a lot of activity. We both are just wiped out. He is sick on top of being exhausted and I feel just like I want to crawl into a cave and crash. I would give ANYTHING to be able to take a few days right now and just go away, me and him (no kids) and just relax. I am glad everyone is here and they are helping with cooking, cleaning and supervising of children, but after holding everything in for a year and then being so stressed and tense this week, we both can finally relax. All we want to do is sleep.
That's the truth of the return. While Chad pushed past his exhaustion most of the evening, he couldn't go much longer, so we asked the neighbors to leave and come back tomorrow. He took a hot bath and I washed his hair and scrubbed his back and rubbed his neck. We talked for a little while and then went to bed. I got back up so I could fill you in, dear reader.
He's home. The countdown is over. But I will continue to blog for awhile longer about the process of reintegrating. Tonight, it is can we sleep together again? I can hear his snoring already and I'm in the living room, so this might be dicey. But, the Beautyrest Mattress we got, doesn't move at all when you bounce on it or roll over, the pad I put on it is a cooling pad and adds just a little extra padding to a firm plush mattress that initially feels a bit more firm than plush. He's already asleep, but will I be able to sleep with the extra noise, heat, presence?
Tonight the lesson was KISS. Keep it simple stupid! We both had all our emotions invested in this day, in the moment, and then spent the day just fighting giving in to the tired feeling we both got once the stress was gone. We had just a little too much going on this evening. If Chad weren't sick, it might not have been so bad, but he was a little loopy from being so tired and I could barely keep my eyes open after three sleepless nights waiting for final word that he was on his way.
Congrats To You! I am Happy for you that he came home safe! Yay!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad he made it home. I know school starts soon, but take it one day at a time. Everyone will leave soon and it'll be just your little nuclear family.
ReplyDelete