On Thursday morning, I was woken up around 6:00 to the sound of my cell phone going off. With a husband in Iraq and aging grandparents, I dread when my phone rings during "abnormal" hours. But this time it was Patrick with a sweet surprise! Instead of getting home on Saturday, he was already in DC and would be home in just a few short hours! Although I knew he'd left Iraq for Kuwait and was working on changing his flight home, there had been no confirmation that it was possible, and certainly no communication that he'd gotten on a flight! And the timing couldn't have been more perfect: Patrick's plane would land at Norfolk around 9:45 and my class ended at 9:15; if all went according to schedule, I could be at the airport by the time he'd collected his bags!
As it turned out, Patrick's plane landed a little early and my class was a little late. I was still in the tunnel when Patrick called me to say he was here! Luckily, his bags were delayed, so I did get to baggage claim before him! We stopped at Chik-Fil-A for an early lunch and later Chili's for dinner. Friday we went to the gun range so I could practice shooting Patrick's .40-cal before he really deploys... Then we came home and, in remembrance of the first dinner Patrick ever cooked for me (nearly four years ago!), made Patrick's mom's lasagna for dinner, and invited my parents and Todd (who was driving down from DC for the long weekend) to share it with us. We had a great family evening telling stories and catching up. Saturday we watched Notre Dame's opening victory against Nevada (Go Irish!) before going to my parents' house for a steak dinner. Sunday was Mass and catching up on chores, and today was a rainy day gym date, more chores and homework, and getting ready for work/school for the next four days...
...but none of that disappointment about going back to class and work matters, because, at least for now, Patrick is home safe and sound and we can focus on enjoying the time we have together!!
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