After seven long months of being apart, the day was at last approaching when James, along with 1000 other sailors, would be sailing into San Diego to finally be reunited with their families (and most importantly, me!).
I spent homecoming eve at the beach with another Navy wife, enjoying the sun and sharing our excitement that our husbands were coming home! The bond between Navy wives is a special one, since most married couples don’t know what it’s like to be away from each other for so long. Without a few of my amazing Navy wife friends, I would have never made it through those long months alone. I couldn’t sleep the night before homecoming, and I decided to go into work for a little while, just to keep me from going crazy. As I was driving over the Coronado Bridge, I saw on the distant horizon the outline of the Makin Island, and all the emotions that have been buried inside of me over the last seven months exploded. I w
as overjoyed and tears started to swell in my eyes. I was swept up in emotions, and had to quickly remind myself that I was driving on a bridge 200 feet about the water. This was just the first of many emotional breakdowns of the day. As Ashley and I stood on the pier watching the tip of the ship break into view, we both broke into tears. As the tears poured down our faces, we just held each other and watched the massive gray shipped lined with white uniforms creep towards us. I was so happy to have her there with me that day, as the waiting was unbearable, and the few hours we had to wait felt like lifetimes. Despite everyone kind of looking the same in uniform, I was quickly able to spot James. It has been amazing to have him home, and I am so thankful that he is now here most of the time. He still has to leave for a week or two now and then, and has to be on duty once a week, but it’s much better than months! Now we are just enjoying being together in Southern California, and taking advantage of our evenings and weekends together.
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