*grin*

i don't really need to say anything else do i? but i will tell you that homecoming ceremonies give you the greatest highs. i can say this with utmost authority as i've been to three in the last week.

yeah, you read that right. i went to three. the first to see the rest of neilson's company come home, of course neilson's and then to film for our friend and neilson's xo. each of them had me keyed up and weepy and each had me beaming with pride. but i know you really don't want the details of any of the ceremonies except for greywolf 7 so here they are.

i'll elaborate on my past post and tell you after the phone call from cpt clay i started bawling. the suckitude of the past 14 months had an end in sight-- near sight. of course i was busy cleaning, decorating, cooking, and having anxiety attacks -- lather, rinse, repeat.

and of course i couldn't sleep saturday night and i was up at the crack of dawn, showered, got ready, got grace ready and we headed to the field a full 2 hours early. nothing like a call from your hubby at 4:30am from american soil to get your day started.

our plan was to meet at the helicopter parked on the west side of the field. neilson would be able to find us because grace and i would be wearing purple k-state gear and holding a big sign with a purple powercat. i parked at the west side of the field which was near the tent for baggage pickup. neil told me he would have his ruck sack, duffle and backpack so i knew we wouldn't want to walk far.

the 2 hour wait is fun, exciting, nerve wracking, thrilling, weepy, and most of all surreal. really, in a few short hours our daily normalcy would change. deployment is weird that way. to survive, it has to become normal for your soldier to not be there. it sucks but it is the norm. and then bam, there you are, on the brink of change.

enough philosophical moments and i'll get back to the details.

so everyone is standing around grinning from ear to ear, talking, looking at watches, checking hair, outfits and cameras and then the dj announces, " hey greywolf 7, your loved ones have landed!"

organizers start prepping the crowd as to what's going to happen and then what seems like eons pass and really it's only an hour or so and you hear, "hey greywolf 7, just wanted to let you know your loved ones are on busses and have left the airfield."

the excitement really begings to build and people start lining the field.

then you see the honor guard march/ride into position, you see soldiers run to block off battalion avenue and you know it's only 2 minutes till you see them.

and then you see it-

the police car with flashing lights off to the right and the dj plays a sound bite from apollo 13 when mission control checks sytems and all reply, "go flight" and the white busses appear at the corner and turn onto battalion just a half block in front of you.

you see the shadows of soldiers unloading and hear the chanting, "move that bus!" the dj is playing "let's get ready to rumble and rock and roll part 2" and they pull away and there are the troopers, in formation the music cuts to ac/dc and led by the honor guard, the troopers march onto the field.

a quick benediction, a welcom home from division rear d and the sweet words, "go get your soldier!"



neilson said he saw our sign as he came around the corner in the busses. he beelined for us and i ran/jumped/hugged him. grace hung back a bit and then came over reaching for her daddy to pick her up. we hugged/laughed/cried and hung on for dear life.

change is good. yes it is.