My son is back in the US!

[Crankin]

Scott came home from Afghanistan yesterday. Of course, he called when I was in class, but I had talked to him Monday (when he called at 4:30 AM to wish me a belated Mother's Day :)).
This was his 5th deployment, 3d to the middle east, in 7 years. He is now transferring to Special Forces, although he will still be an intelligence specialist. With one year left in his enlistment, I have doubts that he will choose to leave at this point. Hopefully, DIL will convince him that being separated for 7 months at a time isn't the recipe for happiness and that it's time to move on and go back to school.

[hirakukibou]

Yay! I am glad that he is back in the country.

[OakLeaf]

A big TE welcome home. :)

[hebe]

Welcome home to him! I bet you're not the only person delighted to have him back.

[Roadtrip]

Woooooo hooooooo!

Congrats on a safe homecoming!!

Shannon

[PamNY]

Great news! Glad he's home.

[uforgot]

What a relief for you! So glad he's back and safe and give him my thanks.

[Kerry1976]

That's fantastic!

[indysteel]

I'm so glad he's home, Crankin. What a relief that must be. Let's hope he stays stateside for a while now.

[azfiddle]

You must be very happy to have him home. I can't imagine having my son in that same situation.

[roadie gal]

So happy he's home safe!

[Jolt]

That's great--you must be so happy to have him home!

[NbyNW]

You must be thrilled to have him home safe! Please give your son a big THANK YOU from us for serving our country.

[redrhodie]

Congratulations!

[Crankin]

Thanks, everyone.
I get to see him in 13 days, when we fly out to San Diego.

[Tri Girl]

SOOO thrilled that he's back on American soil once again! I hope he decides to stick around for much longer this time! Thank him for all he's done for our country for me, will you?
WONDERFUL news!!!:D

[Desert Tortoise]

Very happy your son is safe and back home! Please give him a big thank you for his service to our country!!

DT

[nancielle]

Ah, love happy stories. Best wishes for all. :)

[ny biker]

Yay!!!

[Bike Writer]

Thank God for a safe return home, you must be estatic! As others have indicated please give a big thank you to him for his service to our country from me too!

[shootingstar]

Great for you and your family, Crankin!

[emily_in_nc]

Great news -- I can tell that you are elated! :p

[malkin]

I am thankful for his service and glad he's safely.


I want them ALL back safely.

[margo49]

Wonderful!
A really huge deep and archeytpql Jungian moment: soldier returns to mother.
Feel the emotional power of it and go with the flow of it.

[Bike Chick]

How wonderful, Crankin! I know what a relief that is. Does each deployment get easier for you or do you worry the same each time?

[Crankin]

It just becomes the new normal.
At least here. I am more pragmatic about this than a lot of other people. I went to a military family support group and they made me feel worse! They were very nice people, but it's not in my best interest to sit around and cry. If something bad happens, I will deal with it. It's just not in my nature to sit and continually worry. I do miss him when he is gone, even though I don't live in the same state as him. I think it's because I can't just call him any time or Skype him.
He doesn't tell us anything, mostly because of the nature of his work. The only thing he said about Afghanistan is 1) "I haven't seen a woman since I got here; they are hidden away behind the black shmatta, in the house" and 2) "It's a sh**hole and makes Iraq look like a party." He mostly discussed the mental health issues of his men and how he has to counsel them to deal with the stresses of deployment. Somehow, he and his wife deal with this and seem incredibly normal about everything. I explained to him that it sounded like most of what he was telling me is related to the fact that these guys come from very dysfunctional families. As he says, "crazy, lazy, and azzhole." I know it sounds irreverent, but this is my son at his best. The things that make him a good Marine also made him a good racer....

[ClockworkOrange]

Wonderful!
A really huge deep and archetypal Jungian moment: soldier returns to mother.
Feel the emotional power of it and go with the flow of it.

Margo, love what you wrote, I'm a Mum and a Gran and I am sat here all teary eyed.

Yes, wonderful news for you Crankin and now only 12 days to go. :)

Hugs.

[maillotpois]

Fantastic news - welcome home to him!

[marni]

he's back, he's safe, tears of joy are shed, we are all thankful for his sacrifice, and life is good.

Yay!!!

marni