After almost eight months in Baghdad, my husband is on his way home for two weeks of R&R. In less than twenty-four hours, he will be here. Home. Safe. And I get a reprieve from the constant worry that has encompassed my life since he left last fall. For two weeks I may be able to get to sleep without using sleeping pills, and it's possible that I will get through the night without waking up in a cold sweat from nightmares.
This past week, since getting the confirmation from him that yes, his R&R dates were confirmed by the Army, has been a whirlwind of activity and preparation for homecoming.
As a military wife, I'll tell you about what goes into preparing for a homecoming, both physically and emotionally. A month ago, I wasn't sure I was ready for him to come home. I was in the bowels of depression; they'd just announced the extensions and that threw me for a loop. We are both in our deployment "groove." Having your spouse come home in the middle of that groove can throw things seriously out of whack and it can take months to get the ship righted again. But, the closer the end of May came, the more excited I was. Hell, I braved the mall on Memorial Day weekend and bought skirts (for the first time in years), I must be excited.
And here we are. He's almost home.
First things first; and that's me and what do I wear to the airport? I spent last Saturday morning and afternoon at the seventh circle of hell mall buying girl clothes. I'm a jeans-n-t-shirt girl(even at work) but I thought a nice skirt would probably be appropriate, and not what he's expecting to see when he comes down the ramp. I guess I got caught up in the excitement and emotions of seeing Matt again, because I walked out of Macy's with three skirts, some froo-froo shirts to match, two pairs of strappy sandals, and a very tired debit card.
I'll be a skirt wearing fool for the next 14 days.
Next on the list; the house gets a scrubdown from top to bottom and nothing is spared. I spent last Saturday night scrubbing the grout in my kitchen tile with a toothbrush and a bottle of bleach. Sadly, I was sober. His civilian clothes were freshly washed and made ready for use again. He tells me he can't wait to wear jeans and shorts again, so I made sure they are ready for him.
The yardwork is all done, thanks to the help of one of my neighbors, who came over Monday evening and helped me mow, weed, hedge, edge, trim, pot some flowers, and clean up our backyard patio and grill. My neighbor didn't want my husband to have to do yardwork while he's home on leave, so he came over and helped me get everything done.
Tuesday evening I went grocery shopping and filled the pantry and refrigerator with all his favorite foods, fresh fruits and veggies. I took special care in stocking his favorite beer, something he hasn't had since he left. All his favorite wines have been carefully arranged in his wine chiller. I cleaned, washed, and vacuumed out my car, so I can spare myself the spousal lecture about car care on the way home from the airport.
Tonight, after this diary is published, my house will get the final once-over spit-and-polish treatment. All remaining laundry and linens will be washed, fresh towels put out, new soap, razors, shaving cream and other personal stuff arranged for his use. I will press and hang my girlie clothes, make sure all twenty nails are presentable, and try and get at least four hours of sleep.
Tomorrow morning, two stinky dogs go to the groomers to get bathed and clipped so that they can be properly presented to the master of the house upon his return. And all day I will wait for the call that tells me of his arrival time at the airport.
But sadly even though I am excited to see my husband; that happiness is tainted by the fact that the past few days so many families have learned that they will never feel the excitement and anticipation of a homecoming and reunion. The homecomings of
Nicholas Walsh:
"They were extremely close, and it's been hard for Triston. I’ve been telling him that his daddy would be home for Halloween, but Triston said he didn’t want to wait that long. He said, ‘Mommy, I don’t want a costume, I just want my daddy to come home,’" she said. Now his father will be home before Halloween. "But it isn’t the way we expected," she said.
David Paul Lindsey:
"He and Dad were best friends," Hickman said. "They did everything together, even errands. There probably isn't another marine out there who called his parents as much as David did. He called far more than his sisters and I ever do."
Mark Ryan Climaco Caguioa:
"He seemed to be very proud, happier, much happier in some way"
Francis "Frank" M. Trussel Jr.:
"He was an awesome person and would bend over backwards for anybody," said Cody McDermith, of Champaign, his friend of about 4½ years. "If he could do something for somebody, he would."
Clinton C. Blodgett:
"He was just independent. He always liked guns, hunting, driving four-wheelers...
Keith Heidtman
"He was one of those kids who thirsted for anything you could throw at him," Campbell said. "He was not a kid trying to find the easy way out of things."
will be filled with tears of grief instead of tears of joy. There will be no happy airport reunions when these men come home. Instead of red, white, and blue ribbons on the front porch, there will be mournings, wakes, and funerals to plan.
According to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count the number of names released by the DoD is now 3461 and there are 9 more names of the deceased awaiting notification of the next of kin before being publicly released. The total is now three thousand, four hundred and seventy US Servicemen and women.
All of the U.S. fatalities can be seen here or here. They all had loved ones, families and friends. The DoD news releases are here.
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. This series is maintained by i dunno, with the help of Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, MsWings, greenies, american daughter, blue jersey mom, and myself.
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