Tom's Home

The kids waiting for their Daddies

B Co 201st, Tom is 2nd squad, 1st soldier

The reunion

If anyone has been following my facebook page, you will know that Tom, and the 201st, has made it home safe and sound. They came home 1 yr exactly from the day they left, Valentine's Day. Granted, Ellie and I didn't get the actual reunion until 1 o'clock in the morning on the 15th, but we survived. We had been told that the unit's plane would be arriving around 10 0r 10:30, so Ellie and I decided to go to the reception a little early and help out if needed. Nothing was needed of course, but there were lots of kids for Ellie to play with, including Lily. Lily and Ellie used to play together all the time, but for relationships going their separate ways (i.e. Mommy became somewhat of a hermit), Ellie didn't go play that often. When they saw each other, the reunion was so sweet and touching. I loved it, and honestly felt bad that I hadn't given Ellie more opportunities to play with Lily. It was quite entertaining to watch two little bossy girls try to boss the other one around, and neither would give in. Ellie is DEFINITELY my child!

I was expecting that she would be cranky and a handful to, for lack of a better word, deal with. She was awesome. Of course I had to use my "mommy voice" a couple of times, but I was expecting so much worse. She played, and laughed, and danced all night until the guys came home. When they were getting us ready for their arrival, she was so excited. Of course, his particular company came in last, but he's tall, so he was one of the first of that group to come in. I had her standing on my lap so she could see better, and as soon as she saw him, she yelled, "There's my Daddy! I see him! He's home!!" It was so sweet. She kept waving at him, and yes, he was smiling, but trying to maintain his bearing. It was relatively quiet, and she looks down at me and says, "Mommy, he's not waving back at me. He doesn't see me." I'm assuming Tom heard her because as she was turning around, I could see he was in fact waving at her, just down at his hip. I pointed this out to her, and she just lit up, just knowing that Daddy knew she was there. It was such a heartfelt moment.

Once the families were allowed to "find their soldier," I let Ellie bolt off to find Daddy. It took no time at all! She was so happy to be with Daddy. She really did miss him. He even offered to take her to the bathroom when she announced that she had to "pot-ty" (She says this super proper now, its really cute.) Unfortunately, they only had one stall, so he brought her back to me and I took her. We gathered up all of Tom's belongings and headed home.

I am so happy about the relationship between Ellie and Tom. I had been really worrying about how it was going to be. I know some child shy away, but Ellie is all about Daddy now. There are still times when she wants Mommy over Daddy, but I'm expecting that. I even went out shopping for a number of hours yesterday and left Daddy to take care of Ellie on his own. Honestly, the time kinda got away from me, but when I called to let him know I was on my way home, everything had been going great. He got her down for a nap. They had been playing. He was actually in the middle of making dinner when I called. I was speechless.

The transition has been much smoother than I expected, and for that I am very, VERY grateful.

"Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations." ~Faith Baldwin