The Welcome Home

Okay first off a little house keeping. I know the first question is “Brian, where have you been?”
And all I can say is I am sorry. I have been home for 4 months now and there has been almost no word from me. What can I say I have been busy. It is weird how much my little bundle of joy takes up all of my time. And every free second is put to rest. But I am still here and still chugging along. I am just getting back in to my running, and working again on the weight. If you check out my Running to Disneyland you will see that the miles are starting to add up. I am almost half way there. Nowhere near as far as I thought I would have gone by now, but the numbers are climbing.
So now on with the show.

We have landed. Finally!!!
Unbuckle, Turn on the cell and send a few texts out. Grab our bags, Walk down the stairs. Salute – Shake hands. Salute – Shake hands. Salute – Shake hands. And then walk off the tarmac into the terminal. And this is where the really hard waiting is. On the plane there was not much we could do to hurry, but here I am just waiting. But that is the ARMY. There is always a little paperwork to do and some in processing to go through. The nice this is that there was a camera crew there that was filming us so that all the families waiting at the Post gym could see us even though we could not see them. And we wait…

Eventually all the paperwork was done. Single soldiers had their room keys. Married soldiers had their “How to get along with your family” pamphlets. And we board the buss that will take us on the 20-minute journey that will take us home. Of course as soon as I am sitting on the bus my only thought was “MOVE THAT BUS”.









Now we are standing in formation outside the gym…
Now we are marching in the gym.






There is music playing.






There are people screaming. There are people crying. It is like we are all rock stars. Yes folks the Beatles have returned.
And I am looking without moving my head of course (we were still in formation) for my Wife. I know she is here. I talked to her on the phone. But I can’t see her.

Now we are standing in formation inside the gym. Some one is talking, but I can barely here them. All I hear is my heart pounding and my brain screaming “JUST SAY FALLOUT”

And then it is said. Everyone starts to move, and I just stand there. My eyes are searching the stands… Nothing
I turn around and start searching the rest of the gym… Nothing.





then there she is. A few short steps and we are in each other’s arms. A little crying, a little kissing, a little hugging, and then it is the time I have been waiting for. It is time to meet Samantha. Her Mom was smart enough to leave her in the stroller until I got a chance to pick her up.
And pick her up I did.




We met. She smiled. I cried. And Maria says, “You have perfect timing. She just spit up all over the place before you guys came in”. I am standing there holding my daughter thinking, “Good I am safe for now”. And then we are both proved wrong. It was like she was saying,





“Welcome home daddy, barffffff”. Like she was marking her territory. “This is my Daddy. There are many like him but this one is mine.










After that I took her around to introduce her to some of my friends that had come home with me. And then it was on to the 2nd new meeting of the day. I get to see my house. Maria moved while I was away so I had no clue where I lived. So we drove home. Threw my bags in the garage. I sat in my lazy boy, and for the first time in 9 months, I was comfortable…
I was home.





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