as we approach the end of august, i’ve got reunions on my mind. i find myself daydreaming constantly about being together again as a family.
i bet that you have probably seen one of the you tube videos circulating. you know the ones…the soldier reunions. they are the best. i ugly cry every.single.time.
the one i watched most recently made me dig up my copy of this video and watch again:
daddy surprise from stephanie howell on Vimeo.
there is nothing in the world like reuniting with someone you love. especially someone who has been somewhere dangerous and really far away for a long period of time.
i just can’t explain it. i live for those moments. the in between, the horrible parts? well those reunions make it all worthwhile.
you know when you were sixteen? and you had a massive crush on that cute boy at school??? and every time you saw him or he talked to you, your pulse sped up?
butterflies in your tummy, talking a million miles a minute, in heaven..
that’s what it’s like.
first kiss good. heart drop to your toes good.
we’ve been having reunions ever since there was an “us”.
j went to west point (in NY) and i went to baylor (in TX). for over ten years now, we’ve been having tearful goodbyes and hellos.
West Point…and oh, i thought these were the WORST goodbyes. I remember dropping J off at the Dallas airport and crying so hard I couldn’t see straight. I simply couldn’t imagine anything harder than that. Oh, young love. HEEE! There were much harder goodbyes just down the road.
Ranger School
Afghanistan
Iraq, Iraq again
Afghanistan again
Afghanistan again
our most recent goodbye.
Big goodbyes and reunions. Little ones sprinkled in between. Training, Traveling, R&R etc.
And I can just imagine it now.
That sweet, excruciating anticipation. Waiting, and waiting some more…Feeling sick to your stomach and thinking you just can’t stand it for one more second.
and then finally seeing his face for the first time. drinking it in. thinking you just might be that crazy woman. the one who runs right into the middle of the ceremony and hugs him. because you just can’t wait.
But waiting. and then holding him and just burying my face in his neck. Smelling his smell. Which after a deployment is totally that army/infantrymen smell.
Combat boots, dusty desert smell…with minty fresh toothpaste b/c he always brushes his teeth just before he lands.
Oh, it’s beautiful.
Just clinging to him, and feeling his heart beat against mine. Holding on to him as tight as I can.
Watching him hold his children again. And seeing that smile he has…the one that looks like it will split his face clear in half.
Seeing the looks on my girls faces. The love and disbelief written all over them. The high-pitched, little girl voices saying “DADDYYYYY!!!!”.
And the funny part? Already thinking of the next time you have to say goodbye. That’s the heart of a military wife.
That’s what’s on my mind right now.
Waiting for my next “moment”. I can see it, taste it. Clear as day.
And I’m ready. So ready.
xoxo
s