1:30am Monday October 22
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| the itsy bitsy spider |
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| climbed up the water spout! |
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| no more car seat! |
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| Fort Drum here we are! |
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| mural on the wall at the hanger |
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| ready to greet our hero |
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| three cheers for the red, white and blue! |
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| thrid from the right, there he is! |
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| happy to see his wife! |
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| "umm, Cookie? who is this guy?!" |
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| The family! |
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| I am pretty happy right now! |
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| Jake and a buddy |
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| a friend of Jakes who did not deploy, just came to greet her fellow soldiers |
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| the scene on the tarmac |
The baby crys, more useful than an alarm clock, and I hop
out of bed. After dressing, brushing teeth, I grab getting a travel mug full of
coffee(you knew that already!). I finish loading the car with the food treats I
am bringing to Jake, chili, spice cookies, pumpkin bread and banana bread and
then get Cassandra settled. The car is warm and classical music is playing as
we roll out into the darkness. As I fly
down 23S I suddenly see a glow at the side of the road…Deer. A whole herd is
wandering across the slow lane, and as I
slow way down and grip the wheel I catch a movement to my right. I look out my
window and there is a deer, right there, I can see her eyes! She actually bumps
the car and bounces off the mirror, closing it like they do at the car wash. Oh
my gosh, I am so scared. The car luckily is not
damaged and I keep rolling through the darkness. About a mile down the road
about 15 more deer are grazing in the grassy median. Good gracious! I say a
thank you prayer and hope that that is the worst bit of my drive. The miles roll by. 4:40am Cassie wakes up and
I happily pull into a rest area (remember that coffee?!) She is happy to be out
of the car and I get her changed and freshened. I grab a coffee and Cassie
entertains fellow travelers by dancing to the muzac. I give her snacks in the
car and we sing and talk for about an hour and then she dozes off again.
Yay! We are getting closer! I stop for
gas and Dunkin donuts about 30 minutes from Watertown, and what fun. The folks
at DD are thrilled with the baby and give her a munchkin right away! There is a
huge blowup spider in the shop and we sing many rounds of the Itsy Bitsy Spider
to it. Cassandra walks, dances, smiles, waves, blows kisses, eats oatmeal and
fruit and generally has a ball. I do too, it is nice to be out of the car and
talking to people. We check in to the
hotel early and stash our things then head onto Fort Drum, just a ¼ mile down
the road. The cabins that Cammy et al
are staying at are really neat. I would definitely stay there in the summer if
Jake is still at Drum. Annabelle is
happy to see her little sister and we play outside on the porch swing for a
bit. I offer to take both girls to find
a playground and enjoy the warm weather while Cammy finishes redying her hair
pink for the homecoming celebration. Cassie
loves the playground and I also go to the exchange for some Fort Drum souvenirs
(you know me!). Back at the cabin the
kids are fed and I change Cassie into her camo onsie and jean jeggings, she
looks so cute. Cammy joins the baby and
I and we head over to the hanger on the airfield where the soldiers will be
coming in. I am so excited! Patriotic music is playing and everyone is dressed
up. Many kids have on red, white and blue and folks are holding signs, balloons
and flowers. The USO is handing out flags, which Cassie has a ball with. Anticipation fills the air. Suddenly the music
changes to a patriotic march, a back door opens and soldiers begin marching in
in formation. I am trying to take a video and my hand is shaking like crazy. I don’t
spot Jake but keep filming. When all the
soldiers are in and lined up, we sing the Star Spangled Banner and do a short
prayer. At this point I change spots and move right and down front with Cassie
to see if I can spot Jake. And there he is! He is right in front of me in the
front row. I start crying of course. He
looks wonderful and real sight for sore eyes. It has been14 months since I have
seen him. The command give speeches and then they whole group sings the Fort
Drum song, The Engineer battalion song and the Army song. The audience is
standing at this point and soldiers throughout the room are singing. As I sing “and
the Caissons Go Rolling along” I can hear Dads voice singing in my ear. I am
crying again! I know Dad is here, and Jerry’s Dad too, and they are both so
proud. When the group is dismissed everyone starts to scream and run to their
soldiers-WOW, very moving. Jake gives Cammy big hugs and I try to get some
photos. Then it’s Cassandra turn, though she is less thrilled! Of course she doesn’t
remember Jake and the photos are funny shots of her crying. Then, finally, it’s the old Moms turn. It
feels so good to hug my Jake. I am crying again (you probably guessed this!)
and I tell him how proud we all are and give him the love that was sent from
all the family and friends. We gather is
ruck sacks and go back to the cabin where Jake showers and changes into jeans
and a Tigers shirt from us. I take he and Cammy out to dinner, their idea, at
the Olive Garden, their choice, and by the time I get to my hotel I have been
up for 21 hours! It was worth it though, my heart had told me to come and it
was right!
