Airport Observations
November 25, 2007|
I recently returned from a week's vacation with my husband and 2 kids (and I am exhausted!). When we reached our destination I was doing my typical "look around the unfamiliar airport for baggage claim signs" and I saw a number of military families - one saying goodbye and two saying Welcome Home! And my emotional roller-coaster started full speed ahead!
The first family I saw - a man in DCUs and his (I assume) wife and child close to him. He was holding his child and hugging him/her tight. Then his wife stepped in and they hugged each other - not wanting to let go, it seemed. Their backs were to me, so I could not see their faces. But I didn't need to see their faces to know what was going on. I started to get teary-eyed myself and said a prayer for them as I walked through the airport. Even as I write this, I feel the knot in my throat... I can feel the pain of saying goodbye. And it hurts.
As I reached baggage claim I saw two families welcoming home their soldiers. There were hugs all around and tears of joy for the safe return of their loved one. Again, my eyes became misty and I just wanted to run up and hug these two brave men and tell them "Welcome Home!!!" But I didn't... I did have the chance to say "Welcome Home" to one of the soldiers as I was (quite obviously) staring at him and his family. We made eye contact and I simply said, "Welcome Home." He smiled, said thank you, and went about his way. And the tears started down my cheeks. Dangit, I was a mess!
As I waited for our luggage my mind was racing between the family saying goodbye and the two families seeing their loved ones again. I silently said a prayer for all of them, and for all of our Armed Forces and their families. I was given the gift of a vacation with my family, including my husband. A gift that I will always cherish.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I'm grateful for the gift of my dh being home this year as well. Being without him is rough, but it does makes the holidays when he's home that much more precious. At least I won't ever take that for granted.
Posted by: dutchgirl | 11/25/2007 at 18:16
you just brought tears to my eyes, and I too am praying for those families you saw. Specially for the one saying goodbye, may God keep him safe and give them the strength to stay strong waiting for his return.
Posted by: March | 11/25/2007 at 20:21
HI, your posting made tears come to my eyes. My husband just left for Korea a few weeks ago. And, on top of that, we just had a baby a month ago. So, I just had an airport experience too. We thought that we got there early enough to say goodbye to each other, but almost as soon as he checked in they were calling for final boarding. He gave me a hug and all I could do was cry. As he was going through the metal detector, his little swiss army knife had to be given back to me. The woman that works for the airline had to bring it to me while I stood there crying. She just kept saying that everything would be okay. And, you know what. I started driving home and remembered that I forgot to tell him that I loved him. It is so lonely at home now.
Posted by: june2479 | 11/25/2007 at 21:31
HI, your posting made tears come to my eyes. My husband just left for Korea a few weeks ago. And, on top of that, we just had a baby a month ago. So, I just had an airport experience too. We thought that we got there early enough to say goodbye to each other, but almost as soon as he checked in they were calling for final boarding. He gave me a hug and all I could do was cry. As he was going through the metal detector, his little swiss army knife had to be given back to me. The woman that works for the airline had to bring it to me while I stood there crying. She just kept saying that everything would be okay. And, you know what. I started driving home and remembered that I forgot to tell him that I loved him. It is so lonely at home now.
Posted by: june2479 | 11/25/2007 at 21:32
June2479, You and your husband are in my prayers as well. Sorry to make you cry... I made myself cry just writing it! And congratulations on your new baby! If you ever need support, SpouseBuzz authors and readers are here for you. That's what we do! And we try to make people laugh now and then, too :)
Posted by: Joan D'Arc | 11/25/2007 at 22:20
My husband went back after R&R and our youngest was only 13 days old. I left the girls with my mom and the baby and I took him to the airport and went back with him. I was a hormonal mess! The people in the chairs behind us started crying watching him say goodbye to his son. He waited till the last minute to board the plane and the lady behind the counter took his boarding pass and handed him another and he just stuffed it in his pocket. He later realized someone was watching and bumped him up to their first class seat. Of course my husband told them there was a mistake and said he had the wrong pass, and the stewardess smiled, told him thank you and to sit down.
Posted by: Army Blogger Wife | 11/25/2007 at 23:50
Dh left to go back to the sandbox exactly 7 days after our son had given birth and 2 days after we'd left the hospital. I was in so much pain I could barely walk and our son was so so tiny. The lady through security asked why had I brought him to the airport and I told her "He came so he could tell Daddy good-bye" .. of course there were the tears, it was pretty awful to say good-bye, he stayed behind as much as he could and was the last one to board the plane.
The one thing I will always remember: I was leaving, crying, holding our little boy in our hands and out of nowhere, a lady who'd apparently seen all of this, got up from her seat, where she was waiting for her flight, just ran directly towards me and before I knew what was happening she was giving me a huge hug telling me "Thank you, thank you" and she was crying too.. I still get choked up when I recall this. I never found out who she was, but if by chance she comes across this one day, I want to tell *her* "Thank you, thank you" That hug, which may have seemed a simple gesture, touched my heart so much, it's a moment that will be with me for the rest of my life.
~Army Wife at NOLA Airport
Posted by: Penny | 11/26/2007 at 11:18
I ended up back in the same airport we said goodbye to my husband a few weeks later. Just being there made me cry. But every time I saw a uniform I lost it a little more. I did better this past week. But it is hard. I hope I will be able to bring our new son with me to the airport when ever he does get to come home. Especally since it doesnt look like he will be getting home for the birth.
Great posts and comments!
Posted by: wifeunit | 11/27/2007 at 00:28
It's amazing how no matter where you are, you always feel a connection, a sense of family with every military man, woman, and family you see. And situations like you all describe always, always pull at our heartsrings because we all know exactly how it feels. I'm leaving next week to visit my family for Christmas and will be flying into the Killeen airport, which is always filled with men and women in uniform, coming or going from R&R and various destinations, and I'll be leaving from the small airport here in our military town, also filled with many men and women in uniform. And it's going to be hard for me not to break down knowing that my husband is still gone and won't be with me for Christmas. But I will be overjoyed for those families who are getting to spend the holidays with their loved ones. I'll try not to be too much of a bumbling idiot when going through the airport though.
Posted by: Brando | 12/13/2007 at 19:52