Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Reunion
After being gone for 6 months in the middle east, my son arrived home on Friday morning. There was much fanfare. We arrived an hour before the ship was to dock, so we had plenty of time to look over all the souvenirs that were available. There was coffee and hot chocolate (which we needed, as it was very cold), plus there were cases of Girl Scout cookies for the taking and lots of Navy things to buy. A lady was handing out American flags for us to wave as they came in. The girls loved it. They had made signs that they held up for their brother to see. My husband saw the ship when it was still 30 minutes away (I had thought it was a cargo ship ). When it got closer we saw that they had put a gigantic lei on the front of the ship, it was an awesome sight. We kept trying to see where our son was standing. At first we thought he was up by the bridge, but then my husband spotted him (talk about eagle eyes), there he was right in front of us supervising his men as they prepared to secure the ship to the dock. It was so awesome to observe him at work. It took two hours for him to finish his job, get his men off the ship and unload all his gear. Then we found out that he would only be home for a few hours before he had to return that evening for duty (he had the 8 to midnight shift). So we took him to lunch and then just sat and talked while I did some of his laundry. He left for the ship after I made him a tri-tip dinner. (Dad bbq'd the tri-tip, the girls and I fixed the rest). He returned Saturday morning and we just spent the day talking about all the sights he had seen and just getting caught up. Then he had to get to bed, as he had to be up early this morning to fly out to Rhode Island for a three week school. So now, I sit and try to remember if he was really here or if it was all just a dream. I am glad for those few hours he was here and will look forward once again to a happy reunion. |
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