Mark's plane flew in from Japan two weeks ago, and I guess everyone who knew me could tell that he was home. A friend saw me at church and said "Your husband must be home!". I asked how she knew and she said she could just tell by my face. I knew what she meant. I remember last year when we first got to this duty station and I met a wife whose husband was deployed. I could tell by her face. It wasn't that she was depressed...it was just that her countenance was a little downcast. And when her hubby returned, her eyes just lit up. I felt the same way. These last six months, I used to look in the mirror and feel a little sorry for that sad face that kept staring back at me.Of course its generally true that absense DOES tend to make the heart grow fonder...but there is also that inevitable re-adjustment when the absense is over. We are definitely doing our share of re-adjusting. It started on day ONE when the Chaplain broke his own rule (the one he drilled into the minds of his troops during countless de-briefings before they came home), namely, DONT COME HOME AND TRY TO TAKE OVER! He urged them to gently ease themselves back into the family scene. He broke this one when he walked in the door and within two minutes he looked around and said "Don't worry honey, I know you couldn't do much with the four kids to take care of. I'll get right on it and have this house in top shape in no time!"
I almost shipped him back to Japan.
But after a profuse apology and repeated assurances that the house actually looked JUST FINE, we started over again, and I decided to keep him.:>
