Jul. 14, 2003 ~ Soldier Boy
is HOME! Not "home" home, but he is safely back on American soil, which is good enough for me. We can't wait to see him, of course, and we will... soon. But for now, well, as someone recently said, I can breathe again. And maybe sleep through the night.
They got in late last night, and worked unloading the plane till about 5:00 AM. He has not been to sleep yet, so as you can imagine, he is tired. We talked for a long time, and he wants to call back tonight when his dad and brother are home, so he can talk with them, too. I told him that we would wait for his call, that we would not call him tonight, in case he fell asleep. My goodness, he needs his rest! But he said he didn't care if we woke him up, that it would be fine to call. So believe me, we will.
Special thanks go out to the three friends who, no questions asked, agreed to tape their local news shows last night. They didn't know why (though I'm sure they suspected), when I asked them to do it, but this was just on the off chance that a TV crew was there to film the plane's arrival. As it turned out, that didn't happen. A story was done about some of their fellow soldiers who arrived just days earlier, so I didn't know what to expect. And I wanted a picture of our boy's plane landing, even if we didn't get to see our boy! My friends -- you know you you are -- I am so grateful for your efforts.
Thanks, too, to all the friends, near and far, who have been so kind and supportive all these months. Your thoughts, prayers, emails, cards, letters and everything else... mean more to me than I can say.
I still have a cousin serving in Iraq, and I will continue to worry about him. When he comes home, I'm sure I'll worry about all the soldiers who remain behind, as I will worry about those still in Afghanistan.
But our very own Soldier Boy is home, and there is this lump in my throat that won't go away. My eyes are a little blurry, too.
He will still be jumping from planes and helicopters, so I suppose I will continue to worry about that. After all, I am a mother, and "worrying" is in my job description. But at least for a while, I won't have to worry about land mines or missiles, or spiders or snakes. Or people shooting at him.
Did you just hear that sigh of relief?
A mother in Texas will sleep well tonight.
All rights reserved
_______________________________