Innocence Again

we got to jersey at 1:30 am after six hours of driving with bloodshot eyes and and excessive yawning. we pulled into the driveway, got out of the car and by the light of our cell phones found our way into the backyard to look for the house key. but it wasn’t in its normal place-or in any place that we could think of, and we began calculating how uncomfortable it would be to spend the rest of the night in the car. i had to pee. i peed on the lawn. we went around the house to see if any of the windows might be unlocked but the boys were good about closing them before they left for this patrol. we tried one more time and -oh, wait! the laundry room window budged just a little, and five minutes later robin hoisted me up and i scrambled in over the dryer and tumbled to the floor inside the house.

so began the adventure.

knowing that we had to get up at six the next morning to meet the boat at high tide i crawled in bed as soon as we had unpacked the car and hung our welcome home sign on the wall. i was exhausted. i needed the rest. but i was also so excited that i couldn’t fall asleep. it was just a few hours before the boat would come in, the day i’d been looking forward to for the past two months. i tossed and turned and finally it was time.

we drove to base and we walked to the pier just as the sun began to rise on the other side of the channel. it’s hard to explain the butterflies in my tummy and the anticipation and the relief and all the feelings that accompanied the ship as it slowly pulled in.

my coastie texted me, excited to be coming home and apologizing for waking me up. he still had no idea that i was waiting for him at the pier. how’s amherst? he asked and sent me a picture of the atlantic sunrise. I’m seeing it too! i wanted to yell.

it was another hour before he walked off the boat, and by that time i was absolutely beside myself with excitement. and i’m pretty sure that as he walked toward me, realizing the surprise, hearts came out of my eyes like they do in cartoon animations.

being away from him is the hard part. but hearing his voice on an international pay-phone call makes the hard part so happy too. 

they got underway this morning, and i always get a little sad when he leaves. good thing he never sends me his tracker until the patrol is down to ten days, because otherwise i’d waste way too much time hitting F9 to refresh the countdown. yes, i do have a life, i just like pie charts. and bar charts. and the tracker generates both. 

i miss my sailor when he’s out at sea, when he’s out there protecting freedom and justice and the good things we believe in. but i’m so very proud of him, and i know him to be strong, so i know it’s always worth the wait when the ship comes in. 

i think it’s left over from my africa days, but incoming long-distance calls at unexpected times make me extremely uncomfortable. they make me think family emergency, sudden death maybe, definitely a tragedy. so when m called me during class this morning i got, well, pretty nervous.  

but, relief, and happy surprise, he got into flight school! on his first try (nbd). he’s worked so hard, he’s gone so many extra miles, he totally deserves it. (and i can’t stop smiling)