Counting Down...to...uhhhh

Well, there's another picture of my kid. It's there because this post will have some tidbits about his coming home, and because he's just so darned cute, isn't he? Man, I would have made such a great Mommy Blogger. 20 years too late. I suppose tales of every adorable thing he said when he was little would be kind of icky at this point, and he'd probably kill me. Fine. I won't get into it. Except his first word was not "Mommy," but "Grover."

I wonder which word he'll be thinking when he reads that.

Anyway, as you know, I'm still new to this Military Mom thing. The boy is coming home soon, and I just thought I'd fill you non-military families in on a few things, so you can learn along with me.

You, as a military parent, are NOT informed of arrival dates, until the very very last minute. I'm assuming it's the same for military spouses.

See, Brian has an idea when he'll be flying back to the U.S., and where he'll be flying to, and where he will officially touch U.S. soil again. I'd kind of like to be hanging around there, waving a hankie in one hand and a little flag in the other, when he steps off that plane.

He's indicated to me that that's possible. Yes. I can be there.

When?! Aren't you dying to know when?!

He told me yesterday, "well, we're not really allowed give out that information."

WHAT?!!

The Army will be calling me to let me know, he said.

WHAT?!!

First off, I'm glad to know ahead of time that I'll be receiving a phone call from the Army. I'd probably otherwise faint dead away when an unknown person on the other end announces "I'm calling from the Army about your son..." What, do these people want to give me a heart attack?

Of course, it comes down to security; you don't want to let the entire world know when and where an entire company full of soldiers might be in the air, and where they'll land, and re-board the next plane. And you never know when one of them might have a mouthy blogger for a Mom.

The dilemma then: I need to go far far away from my house on an unknown date to welcome my son home. I don't know if I get 1 week notice or 24 hours notice. I sure as heck won't be able to save any dough on booking a plane ticket in advance, so driving will be my only option, if the Army gives me enough notice.

Another thing that you may or may not know is that when your kid gets deployed, you are assigned a counselor. She gives a call, gives you her number and a crash course on being a Military Mom. Addresses, coaching on when and what you can mail, how often you can mail etc., until you start to receive communication from your loved one. You can also call her with any questions.

I've never called her. But you can bet I kept her phone number, and I will call, to see if she can give me a heads up.

I'll keep you posted on that conversation. In the meantime, any Army Parents/Spouses out there that can shed some light on what I should expect, I'd be happy to hear from you. I've already taken a few days off of work for this.

Whatever days those are.