Homecoming

This past weekend was an amazing weekend. We had a long drive to get to Georgia and a long drive back, but it was worth it and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Justin may have arrived in the States months ago, but he only arrived in Ft. Stewart a couple days ahead of his guys. It was a true homecoming all around.

We left Thursday morning after Justin saw the wound care people. We got about an hour down the road when Justin received a call saying he needed to go back to Walter Reed to see the pharmacist to “reconcile his medications”. This didn’t really make much sense since Justin had just talked to her the day before after his primary care appointment. We decided to get off the interstate and stop for an early lunch while Justin called the clinic and waited for them to call back. Thankfully he was able to take care of that over the phone and we were able to get back on the road. After a lot of hours in the car, we made it to our house. There was a welcome home sign on a tree in our yard from our neighbor and newly built ramp over the steps to get into the house (thank you, Pastor Steve and Ricky! – our music pastor and a fellow saxophone player in the orchestra at First Baptist of Hinesville went out to the house and build the ramp the day before we arrived so that Justin would have an easier time getting into the house). This was Justin’s first time in our house since the morning of the day he deployed back in February and it was so good for all of us to be home together again.

On Friday, the first thing Justin wanted to do was to go down to the 3-15 building on Ft. Stewart and see the guys who were already back/didn’t deploy. (You probably thought I was going to say go to Bass Pro in the Savannah Mall, didn’t you? lol) He got to see quite a few people and about gave a few of us a heart attack…until we realized he was okay and then laughed at him. Corey was acting up, so Justin was trying to scare him while popping a wheelie. Had Justin had his wheelie bars on the back of his chair, it would have been fine. Unfortunately, said wheelie bars were sitting in our closet in Maryland.  He misjudged how far back he’d gone, wasn’t able to recover, and flipped the chair over backward. It was quite an awkward landing, but nothing except his pride was hurt. I don’t think he’ll live it down any time soon given who was there to witness it. lol We hung around and visited with people until it was getting close to lunch time. Then we went to our friends’ house to hang out before going with them out to lunch. After lunch we ran errands and headed home. A couple of our neighbors brought over supper for us and we relaxed at home the rest of the evening. (Have I mentioned how much I love where we live in Georgia??? We have some of the nicest neighbors!)

Saturday was the big day. On Friday when we were down at the 3-15 building, they kind of strongly encouraged Justin to be in uniform, so he made sure he had all the patches he needed and he got dressed in his multicam uniform (only worn for deployments). We got there early to make sure we got a parking spot and headed over to the field for Justin to get instructions. While we were waiting, I got to meet some of the wives and put faces with the names and voices I’d only heard over the phone. Justin got a lot of hugs from people he didn’t know, many were the mothers of guys from his unit that had heard about him from their sons. Then the busses drove past the field and parked behind the trees. The families waited in the bleachers and in front of them to catch the first glimpse of their loved ones. The wounded soldiers (Justin being the only one in uniform) waited near the podium while their fellow soldiers marched out from behind the tree line. When they stopped marching and stood in formation, the wounded walked/wheeled out onto the field to join them. Justin’s platoon sergeant walked out, gave Justin a hug, and then helped wheel him to his place in the formation. There was a little talking (though I doubt anyone could tell you what was said lol), the National Anthem was played, the unit song and Army song were sung, then they released everyone to meet up with their soldiers. Most of Justin’s guys found him and it was so awesome to see them reunited. I’m not gonna lie, I think I was more emotional at this homecoming than at the two where Justin was one of the soldiers returning. Seeing him rejoin his platoon out on the field was a moment I won’t forget. After grabbing some lunch, we headed back home where we all crashed. For supper (and by supper, I mean over 3 hours long lol), we went out to eat with some of Justin’s guys and their families. By the time we got home, both boys went straight to bed pretty much. It was a great day!

On Sunday morning, Justin wasn’t feeling the greatest (I think he overdid on Saturday), but we all still made it to church. I got to play in the orchestra and Corey got to hang out with his buddies in his class. It was great to be back even just for one weekend. After a little bit of relaxing, a couple of the single guys from Justin’s platoon, and our friends, Neil (deployed with Justin for his first deployment to Iraq) and Katie, came over for supper. While they were there, the guy delivered Justin’s track chair – given to him by a non-profit organization (I can’t remember the name at the moment). Let me tell ya, that thing is pretty awesome…except the horn which is kind of wimpy sounding. lol Justin can’t wait to take it hunting. It was a nice evening full of laughs…mostly at Justin’s expense, but he deserved it.

This morning, we were definitely not ready to leave. Aside from wanting to stay in Georgia longer, Justin woke up not feeling well again. Corey and I got up, ate breakfast, and I got things packed and ready to load in the Jeep while Justin got a little more rest. We finally hit the road, had a fairly uneventful drive with no wrecks or traffic jams, and made it back to Walter Reed around 8:30 this evening. Unpacking the suitcases can wait until tomorrow. I’m beat. Back to the normal routine tomorrow. Hopefully Justin will get casted this week and start bearing weight on his right leg. I never thought I’d be so happy to anticipate him hobbling around on crutches.

The wounded soldiers