Home Again

“There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again.” -Margaret Elizabeth Sangste

At 7:30 yesterday morning a Southwest Airlines chartered jet landed in Salt Lake carrying loved ones home from Iraq. Among them was Jason. What a thrilling day.


The previous evening we put up a sign in the yard for Jason and the scouts brought over a few flags for us to put on each side of the sign. They wanted to put out all the flags they had, but I wanted to keep it a little less flashy as Jason is not one that likes to draw much attention to himself. We also used glass 'markers' to write on messages on the van and bought some fun balloons.I woke up Thursday morning around 5:00 am. I didn't sleep too well that night. I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve. Plus I was awakened by Ian needing a drink around midnight and Andrew wanting to eat around three, so I really didn't get much sleep. After I got out of the shower I heard my phone beeping that I had a message. Jason sent me a text saying they would probably be arriving 15-20 minutes early, so I let my mom know (she spent the night in order to help me get everyone up and going in the morning so we could make it on time and it would be an easier morning for me.) We kicked into high gear and got everyone ready and out the door. As we drove to Salt Lake that morning we were in the midst of morning traffic. A couple of times a vehicle would pull up beside us, honk, and when they had my attention they would give me a wave and a 'thumbs up'. I would kind of get choked up when this would happen.

We arrived at the Air National Guard base where we met up with my dad, Jason's parents, and his brother, Mike. Soon they opened the hanger doors. A Southwest Airlines jet had just landed and was beginning to taxi over to the base. In front of it were the Airport police with their lights flashing and their sirens blaring. We were allowed to come stand just in front of the hanger. Our further on the flight line was a row of men and women from the Patriot Guard Riders holding flags. Hearing the sirens of the plane escorts as it taxied past the row of flags and knowing our loved ones were on board certainly brought tears to my eyes, and the eyes of those that were with me.
Soon, the plane came to a stop just in front of us and the stairs were brought over. The door opened and out came the commander. Soon, one at a time each Soldier stepped out of the plane to cheers from their families. It was a thrill to see Jason step out of the plane and descend the stairs. As they came off the stairs they filed into formation. When all the Soldiers were in formation the commander addressed the crowd then dismissed the Soldiers to reunite with their families.
As expected, Jason was surprised at how much Andrew had grown since he saw him last. Each of the kids climbed up in his arms and got big hugs. We spent a few minutes in the hanger talking and taking pictures.
As we were going out to get his luggage we had to pass through the parking lot where the van was. I was watching Jason as he walked past the front of the van. He was looking at it closely and then I saw as he noticed the writing on the side of the van. He did a double take. He told me later that he was thinking, "That looks like our van, except that one has writing on it." Then he realized it was ours. As we left the base he wanted to go wash the van, but I insisted we drive it home first.

On our way home we stopped at Denny's for breakfast with his parents and my parents. It was really nice to have that extra time to sit and visit with everybody together.
After we arrived home Jason got out a few souvenirs he brought for us. Then immediately after that we went downstairs and played Super Mario Brothers Wii, as this is all Ian has talked about doing with his dad now for weeks.

I realized something that evening as we went out for a pizza dinner. Alyssa asked me if they could get these kids drinks they had in a refrigerator there. Although this was minuscule decision--nothing life changing, I still felt weary of having to make all the decisions. I was so glad to be able to say, "Ask Dad."

I liked KSL's coverage of it the best.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com