We had a countdown on the fridge that had been up since 24 weeks left of Brent's deployment and it was at 6 weeks remaining that I started having Sage pull off the page every Thursday to help her get excited for her Daddy's return. When Brent was within days of his arrival we headed to the mall so the girls could pick out whichever dress they wanted to wear to the airport. Sage picked a pink sundress with red, white and green trim and the perfect amount of puffiness while Clare picked a halter dress with stripes all over in the same colors as Sage. We were literally doing happy dances around the house in our excitement of seeing Brent. Finally, the day we had been waiting a year for arrived. He was scheduled to get in at 2pm so we spent the morning getting balloons to fill the house with and bunting to hang on the bushes. We decorated the yard with patriotic crafts we had made and hung a sign on the tailgate of his truck that read "Welcome Home Brent. We love you and are so proud of you. Love Ingrid, Sage and Clare." (Huge thanks to buildasign.com who gives away banners worth over $40 to welcome home returning troops) We got the butterfly cookies that Sage had picked out to make for this day all laid out and ready to eat when we got back from the airport. While part of this was done to welcome Brent home, my main goal was to make it a big deal for the girls. I guess I thought that if we made this day really fun and exciting to them then it would help them understand and transition better into the world where Daddy is home and that they now have two parents again to love them and take care of them.
We got to the airport at 1:45pm only to find out that his flight was delayed and would not be arriving until 2:36pm. Oh well, no big deal. We waited this long, what's another half hour. The tricky part was that neither of the girls had had their afternoon naps but I figured if I could keep them entertained then the meltdowns could possibly be avoided. So we watched planes which was a huge hit except for the fact that poor Sage thought every plane she saw was Daddy's. Clare visited with a nice elderly lady and her granddaughter for awhile until she got bored and start looking for opportunities to make a break for it. So we headed to this nice long hall that runs the length of the airport and is never crowded and the girls ran and ran and ran. Finally, at 2:25pm we made our way to the security checkpoint to plop ourselves down and watch for Brent. Five minutes turn into ten...then fifteen...then twenty. Yep, we've officially lost it. Sage has been saying every two minutes "Oh, I think he's here. Daddy's coming!" and I'm praying the whole time that she's right but now she's angry that he's not shown up yet. Clare is wanting nothing to do with sitting and waiting and is struggling to make it back to that nice hall which I would have been fine with but I have no idea when Brent is going to appear because the arrival time of his plane still says 2:36pm. Both of them are tired, crabby and on the verge of full out tantrums worthy enough to alert security and let's be honest, I would probably be throwing a fit myself. Not wanting to be the person everyone feels sorry for who fell flat on her face just short of the finish line and lost the race, I run to the nearest gift shop and frantically buy the first snack foods I can find: teddy grahams and gummy worms. Worked like a charm and I have no shame about it. At 3:15pm word is spreading that his plane had landed and we see the first passengers from his plane heading towards us. At this point the girls are acting like they could care less while my heart is about to beat out of my chest. Then I see him.
He's looking for us and has the biggest smile on his face when he sees us. Sage's smile matches his from cheek to cheek and is holding her arms out long before we reach him. She wraps her arms around him and does not stop hugging him nor does the smile leave her face until we eventually reach our car. Clare is not sure what to think about Brent and buries her face into my shoulder the first ten minutes until she decides that he must be a good thing and starts making shy smiles at him. The thing I remember the most about our reunion is that there was no happy screams or jumping up and down, just quiet joy and smiles mixed with tears (from me of course). I had brought my camera and had had many opportunities where I could have asked someone to take pictures of us in that moment of greeting each other but once I was there waiting but it just never felt right. When I talked about that later with Brent, he was relieved as well that there wasn't an outside intrusion of pictures being snapped and that the moment was kept private for us to cherish.
I didn't know if we would get that day. Neither of us were certain that he would be coming back alive so to say that I'm grateful to God is such an understatement that it almost seems insulting. I can't think of the fears I had for his safety without choking out tears which is, of course, what I'm doing right now and probably why it's taken me this long to write on the blog since he's been home. It's been a wonderful, peaceful, joy filled and healing four weeks. As hard as that time was when he was away, I'm thankful for the ways it has made both of us grow. I am married to a great man who is still able to amaze me daily after almost seven years of marriage. I love him and cherish him so much and can't see there ever being a day where I don't look at him and think about how great it is to be his wife and to know and love him. I will never take for granted this time we have together nor will I ever take for granted those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. There is a whole new group of troops that have stepped in to replace Brent and his team and what they face now is even more dangerous than when Brent left. We need to remember them and never stop praying for their safety.
Brent is doing great and is back to work now. The boxes of his stuff that he had mailed home from Afghanistan have, thankfully, stopped arriving and our house has recovered from the onslaught of army fatigues. It's taken awhile for the girls to realize that Mommy will no longer be attending to all their needs and while they are still working that one out, it's gotten much better. These days, nothing is more beautiful to me than watching the girls giggle and play with their Dad.
I just want to thank everyone who got us through this time with your support and prayers. Every prayer lifted up was heard and will bless us for the rest of our lives. We want to especially thank our parents, this was just as hard on all of you and yet you still encouraged and loved us through it all. Mom and Dad, thank you for letting the girls and I crash for literally months at your place and for suffering with a pleasant face through all my healthy food experiments. You guys and Ehren and Ester were a safe haven for me through that time and gave me the renewal I needed to make it through to the end. Bev, thank you for all the packages of gifts sent to the girls, they were like treasure boxes for the girls to open and were so much fun for them. Bruce and Jane, thank you for your visits and for always taking the time to play with the girls while insisting that I got a break whenever we were together. I was so touched that you spent the time making sure that I had a mother's day gift made by Sage and it is a flower pot I will always treasure.
I am reveling in living a life of normalcy right now and looking forward to some fun stuff we have planned over the next year. Our next adventure starts this Sunday when we leave the girls with my parents and go on a four day fishing trip in Canada. WHOOO HOOOOOO!
