Last night mom said he�d be back in the states. We both agreed not to get our hopes up, on the off chance that his orders were cancelled - our hope would be dashed upon proverbial emotional rocks.
Tonight, I arrived home; shortly thereafter mom called down the staircase to me. �Browngirl do you want to talk to L?� �Oh yes!�ma ma, I�ll be right there.�
I dropped everything, bounded up the stairs, mom hands akimbo bearing the cordless phone, from the kitchen.
I paused, collected myself then smiled into the tele. I said �hello?��I knew who was on the other end of the line � I tried to hold my breath, feeling tentative, cautious and giddy all at once. I waited for what seemed to be a long time.
He answered, I could tell he was smiling too. He sounded just fine. He said he�s back in Colorado, at Fort Carson, he�s got to work tomorrow, got to turn in gear and get re-issued (military formalities). He�s safe, sound, and happy to be back home.
I�m so glad he�s back. I am relieved, joyous, and content. The single best Christmas gift any girl could wish for�the safe return of her best friend, from the war torn Middle East.
Nearly a year ago, I�d purchased a cell phone for him. He said didn�t want it. I forced him to take it. He barely got to learn how to use it, before he was deployed, to support the war effort. He�s back on U.S. soil, the first thing he said after �hello� was �I�m charging my cell phone� then he chuckled. I know why too. He knows how hard he fought me to take the phone back to T-mobile; today he�s thankful, grateful he has his own phone.
He asked when he could call me tomorrow. I told him to call when he had time I�d make time to talk with him.
Tonight as I sit in the dining room, typing at his keyboard, I am smiling. I probably sound like a broken record; it just feels so good to have him home, safe and healthy.
This is an answer to prayer.
For all of you who prayed for the safe return of our troops, thank you. Families all across America are blessed, happy, relieved, grateful and appreciative.
We�d been given the best Christmas present ever!