November 22nd could not have been a better day for me!!! Tony finally was coming home!!!! It was a sleepless/restless night before the morning of the 22nd but I hung in there and made sure everything was done that I had wanted to do before his much anticipated arrival. It was my first homecoming so I was unsure of what to expect or how things worked but I would figure it out as I went. I got up and arranged all of his welcome home presents on the kitchen table for him and I picked up his balloons that I ordered and tied them to his chair. It was odd to see things in his place because it had been empty for so long. I made the bed and arranged everything in our room, scrapbook things no longer are needed to keep me company or to take up the empty space. I did the normal girl things which included fusing with my hair and makeup and making sure I looked ok, I even squeezed in a morning session at the gym. It was finally time to head to K Bay, they were even going to arrive a little bit early!!! I almost forgot his red, white, and blue lei that I had made in the fridge but I remembered it at the last second. I tried to follow all of the laws and rules of the road but I MIGHT have drove the car a LITTLE fast on the way to K Bay, just a little fast. You try driving across the island to pick up your husband that has been gone for seven months and let me know how fast you drive.....
I got to K Bay and managed to find where the plane would be landing. I accidentally parked at the wrong hanger, I parked closer to hanger 3 instead of hanger 5 but I didn't mind. It wasn't that far of a walk and all I had to carry was a lei and a sign I made. I guess a girl walking down the road in a dress, heels, and carrying a sign isn't really acceptable because I only made it about 50 yards before a Master Sergeant stopped and asked if I was going to homecoming (dumb question) and then gave me a ride. He said it was probably a little far of a walk, especially since I was in heels. Of course, as soon as I got there, other Marines that I know that came home before Tony were there and saw me get out of the truck. I had no idea who gave me a ride, it was just a nice Marine to me but they all wondered how the heck I knew him!!!! I had to explain a million times that I didn't know him and he just stopped and offered me a ride......I was then made fun of for about the next 15 mins. I didn't know who he was or that he was some higher up important person!!!! Just my luck, oh well.
I tried to be patient and wait for the plane to fly across the sky. When it finally did arrive everyone started cheering and yelling, I knew my Marine would be coming off the plane soon. It feels like a million years as they walk off the plane single file. I also found myself worrying about if I would be able to find him as he came off the plane. They really do all look the same, it is just a sea of camouflage. When I found him I waved and waved and waved to him so he would see me. He bailed out of the line and came over to me and I might have shoved a couple people out of the way so I could get up to the fence. I know I said excuse me, at least I was polite. Then I grabbed him and didn't want to let go, not even just for a second. Its funny, time really does stand still and you forget about everyone around you. Nothing else mattered, he was home. We took some pictures and then he had to go to the armory to turn everything in so he could come home. It was actually done really quickly and we were on our way off base!!! The only stop we made on our way home was the drive through at Panda, it was what he wanted for dinner......
We spent the rest of the night cuddled up on the couch talking the night away. The first major adjustment we had to get over was sleeping habits. We spent the first 5 days staying up until two or three in the morning. That made for some really long days. We had a small Thanksgiving at the house and just enjoyed the days off that we had together before we had to go back to work. We even made it down to Nashvilles to do some dancing. Its soooo nice to have him home.
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