Dale arrived in Virginia to the accompaniment of the Manry Family Band: Josiah on Baritone, Abby on Flute, Gabe on Tambourine, and Zeke on Bongos. They played a rousing rendition of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again” with a slight variation of the wording. It took Dale by surprise and gave him a good laugh. Although the kids were all mortified that their mother had made them do it, they received a round of applause from everyone in baggage claim. We celebrated with a dinner of burgers and fries at 5 Guys and ice cream sundaes at Jo Jos. The long, long, terribly long year is finally over. Dale is home and we are joyous! We praise God for the safety, health, and comfort He showered upon us this year. And we thank you all so very much for all the prayers, actions, and encouragement you offered on our behalf. IT IS DONE! GOD BE PRAISED!
Dale arrived at Fort Benning, turned in his gear, bought a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup and a Coke, and is now sitting in front of a T.V. watching the Olympics. He will arrive back in Virginia tomorrow. They will tell him his flight time in the morning.
Dale called this morning from New Jersey. He’s back in the U.S. I’d drive up and get him if they’d let me. He has a lay over of a few hours in Jersey and then he will fly down to Georgia. We’ll wave as he flies overhead. So far, the flight has lasted 17 hours. He turns in his gear tomorrow morning and he should be on a flight home tomorrow afternoon or evening to Virginia. He spent his last day in Kuwait seeing the sights. It’s hard to believe, but we have one day to go.
With school a week away, I decided it might be a good idea to conquer a chore I greatly dislike: back to school shopping. Every year I tell myself that I will perform this task better, be more organized, I will consolidate the school supply list, I will shop when items are on sale and tax free, etc. Last year I was clueless about the tax free time and this year I thought it lasted a week not just a weekend. So, no tax free for me. We started off with haircuts. Zeke scowled so severely throughout his haircut that he sent his siblings into repeated fits of laughter which kept making Zeke turn his head. The stylist was happy to finish with him. Gabe’s hair had gotten so long, it had grown past his ears and stuck up in all directions. He was only concerned with keeping his sideburns. Gabe loves sideburns. He, Elvis, and Grandpa sure know what cool is. Josiah got his unruly mop of curls shorn to a length that forbids his hair to curl. I tell him to give up fighting his curls. It is, of course, advice I didn’t adhere to until I turned 30. Abby had gotten her hair cut the day before, and now has a left side part. All middle school girls must have haircuts where their hair hangs in their face. It’s just the way it is. Yesterday, Zeke said, “I want to go to McDonalds. I love McDonalds.” Like Father, like son. So, we went to McDonalds (Maccas) for lunch. After that the school supply search was on. I walked down the aisles, 4 separate lists in hand and told them each what they needed. Fairly often there was a “No wait, go back and get another one of those.” Josiah grabbed a locker shelf which he claimed would solve his messy locker problem. I let him buy it, but am quite certain the locker is not the problem. When he cleaned out his locker at the end of last year, he brought home the roll of paper towels that he was supposed to give to the teacher on the first day of school. Gabe’s list for third grade was endless. I’m not sure why exactly he needs so many things, but apparently he does. After we purchased all the common items, we went to the office supply store to find all things obscure: spiral bound index cards, dry erase board erasers, maps, etc. We finished off the day with shoe shopping, an event my daughter would love, if only she didn’t have to adhere to her mother’s demands that shoes be sensible and have room for growth. Gabe was finished in 2 minutes. Upon entering the store, he declared, “I want to buy the z strap sketchers.” He found them in his size, tried them on and he was done. Josiah tried on all running shoes in pursuit of the ones that would make him the fastest. If Dale can still outrun him, it won’t be for long. After we got home, my sister called. Abby informed her that we had been back to school shopping. When I got on the phone she said, “I’m surprised you didn’t wait until next week.” Oh well, I guess I can claim improvement there.
Last week, while Rick was in Kuwait waiting for his flight out of country, he called me in Mosul. He told me that SGM Franz, the NCOIC of the USACE reception station, was expecting my arrival in Kuwait and would take care of me. In fact, he said I would be a VIP. Having been through tent city here at Ali Al Salem Airbase three previous times, I didn’t know what could possibly constitute VIP status. I figured it might mean that my tent would be closer to the latrine than the non-VIP. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that USACE has a separate office building in Kuwait where they allow senior individuals to sleep instead of the tent city accommodations. The building even has male and female latrines, but I still have to walk to the shower. SGM F acquired the building for his use when USACE closed the Resident Office on the airbase.
On my flight down from Mosul, we stopped in Baghdad, dropped of some passengers and picked up a few. COL Pease, COL West, and LTC Roemhildt, all from USACE GRD in Baghdad, joined the flight. I didn’t see them on the bus from the airfield to the reception area. I found out later that SGM F picked them up in a van, and they didn’t have to ride the bus. COL W is going on his R&R, while COL P and LTC R and redeploying home. I figured COL P and LTC R would be waiting with me for the Freedom Flight back to Ft Benning later this week. I was wrong. They flew out last night on a commercial flight and don’t have to outprocess through Ft Benning. They get to outprocess through USACE in Winchester, VA. I think I’d prefer that VIP status!
