It’s the day we’ve anxiously awaited since we dropped him off during that blizzard in January. Our oldest son is going to be safe at home, after spending 10 months helping to restore and rebuild Iraq. This time, we’ll be leaving during the day. There is snow on the ground, but not the terrible conditions that almost made us wreck that cold scary January night. Hopefully, I will not be puking my guts out like the last trip I made to the Pittsburgh airport.
When we talked to our son on the phone yesterday, he asked what changes happened at home while he was gone. They like to be prepared. When he came home from months of basic training, he said it took him a while to get used to being back home. “It felt different,” he said. It really wasn’t so much. We don’t move all that fast around here. But the other boys have felt the same way after being gone a while. So we’re going to let him ease back into being home…slowly.
The family support group also supported the notion of a quiet stress-free homecoming. Sounds good to me. We want to hog him all to ourselves for a while. He’ll be surrounded by my family soon enough on Thanksgiving Day. And we’ve got his phone all charged up and ready to hand to him at the airport in case he feels the need to reconnect with his friends right away.
His only requests–have the Iraqi flag hanging outside when he gets home. He sent it home with his belongings earlier this month. It’s silk, full-size and impressive. I hope no one steals it. He also mentioned that he likes fish when I asked him if he had a special request for dinner. I figured as much. I’ll be making salmon tonight which is one of his favorites.
