I’m back after what felt like a brief hiatus but maybe was longer than I thought? I have been really busy relaxing and most importantly enjoying having Brian back.
Brian came home the day before Thanksgiving. So while I was prepping for that meal I was also prepping for his homecoming (filling the fridge with Beer, making a sign, cleaning then making a mess and cleaning again, baking cookies for homecoming).
Homecoming is as chaotic as it sounds. Millions of kids eager for their dad’s to get home. Waiting for the boat to be slowly pulled in by the tug and to dock and then the bridge put up… I think it was hours between me waiting at Missing Man monument. The first two pictures above are from that point, it’s the best point in my opinion to watch them first come in. There is a cafe and bathrooms. No shade at all (recall this is where I became a lobster that one time). However, there is a tree that you can take cover while you wait. My friend Caitlyn made a last minute decision to make a sign, so I joined her. I think it came out ok all things considered (I made one on both sides, but you’ll have to wait for the Christmas card the see the other side). Brian commented the bright letters were hard to see, so I’ve made note for next time 😉
I managed to get in the car and drive just a couple MPH over speed limit (bases are really strict) to get to the pier to watch them pull in with the lei on.
There were sandwiches and drinks and cookies me and another family made. However I didn’t eat because I ate at the cafe earlier, and your stomach is kinda in knots anyway. I bought a submarine cookie cutter. Turns out Hawaii heat and humidity is not a good match for sugar cookies, but we managed. The periscopes fall off pretty easily, something to keep in mind for future transiting.
Finally, after what felt like hours (I think maybe two in seriousness), the sailors started coming off. What emotional chaos! So many moments I captured and I won’t post for privacy reasons, but there are a couple that give you the gist.
It was certainly good practice, but it was a huge photography challenge! I was able to get Caitlyn to capture ours. I don’t think it’s all that exciting, but you can be the judge.
I definitely cried upon hugging him, to which he said “It’s only been a month”. *cue eye roll*
After this it’s still not over, and it was another 45 minutes of him making sure the boat was good before we could go home.
There are sailors who need to stay even longer to shut down the reactor. Then some have “pull in duty” where they can’t even go home until the next day (the boat is never completely empty of sailors for obvious reasons).
The next day we had Thanksgiving. I made the turkey in our Traeger grill and it came out OUTSTANDING. We hosted one friend who’s husband is deployed as well. I have stuffing and the turkey NAILED. I also made apple crisp and mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce. My friend brought green beans and sweet potato and a pecan pie. I started the Turkey really early, I was really anxious about the day and cooking it for some reason… well it ended up being ready by 11:30am so we kinda had Thanksgiving brunch. Honestly it worked out. Once we finished, we played a board game (Burgle brothers, it’s my fave) and then Jess left Brian and I to relax for the remaining afternoon/evening.
We also made some family phone calls. Super thankful to have Brian home for a bit.