The homecoming went surprisingly well. I was very pleased with how smoothly everything went. J. thought she had a doctor's appointment that morning to check on her wrist that she broke back in June, but it turns out that the doctors scheduled it for the following day but wrote on her sheet that it was for the 5th. I told her we had to go out anyhow because I just could not sit still long enough to wait till it was time to leave for the pier.
So we went shopping instead. We're women! We shop!! :o) I went to Mervyn's and bought Caroline some clothes for her baby that were just too cute, and then we stopped in at this yummy restaurant next to the mall for lunch. I didn't think I could eat, but I did.
By the time lunch was over, it was getting to be a reasonable time to head to the pier. We drove down towards the base and parked in a satellite parking area and took the Navy shuttle into the base. Once down there, we just milled around and looked at everything. There was quite the carnival atmosphere, what with the brass band and the face-painting for the kids and a roaming clown and an inflatable play-area. J. waylaid one of the folks handing out balloons and had me tie a red balloon onto her wrist like she was a little girl. She cracks me up.
Around 2pm, we meandered down to a crowd up against the fence to see what was going on. A woman pointed out the smoke from the ship that was rising into the sky, and then I started getting really excited. A few moments later, I got my first glimpse of the ship that my husband had been calling home for the past seven months. Just then, the announcement was made over the PA that the pier was open to the public, and a mad dash ensued. But I got a really good spot, right up against the fence.
Kurt had called me on the cell phone to tell me he was on the flight deck, manning the rails. The problem with that was the crowd was on the pier down nearer to the bow of the ship, and the flight deck was toward the back. There was a moment when I thought I saw Kurt maneuvering around the fuel lines, but it was really some other guy. They all look the same!! Tall, well-built guys in a sailor's uniform!!! :o)
Finally the ship was in place against the pier, although it seemed to take FOREVER for the ship to make the turn to move alongside the pier. I didn't really watch what was going on because I was just too excited. I either chatted with J. or I looked at the new moms and other VIPs on the other side of the fence. Watching the ship make its excruciatingly slow approach to the pier was just too nerve-racking.
The Captain at some point in all this dismissed the sailors from manning the rails, and Kurt made a bee-line towards the stern. He said he found me by J.'s red balloon -- he saw it first, then looked to the side and several feet down to find my red head. It was just so thrilling to finally see him again after so long!!!
Getting the guys off the ship was actually much quicker than I had thought. The ramp was put into place, the Captain and the Executive Officer left the ship to greet their wives, the new dads moved down the ramp in a group to meet their new babies, and then the rest of the sailors were able to make their way down the ramp. Kurt was one of the first off the ship and he crushed me in our first hug in so many months -- unfortunately with a fence in between us. But it's ok; it felt so damned good.
It's been kind of weird to have him home now. I can't do what I want to do when I want to do it, but then now I have someone to do stuff with. I don't have to be alone anymore, and that's really nice. I really do appreciate it. And he's been such a help around the house, getting stuff replaced and new projects started.
I think we're completely over his having been gone. It seems like he fit right in, that there wasn't really an adjustment period, and that's nice. There was one time when I got a little annoyed at him, but I think that was more my allowing myself to get angry than anything he actually did. Things are pretty much back to normal -- he's still not going to be working a normal shift when he does go back to work on Tuesday, but it's nice to have him home so much. It's almost like when we were first married, and he didn't have to work every day.
It's good to have Kurt home again.