I put these on Facebook but have been having such a tugging at my heart strings that I wanted to share them here.
A quick story. When John was deployed the first time (December 2004-June 2006) he was able to come home on mid-tour leave in September of 2005. The kids hadn't seen him since he'd left the country in May of 2005. They were young...Cass was 13, the twins were 10, Sammi was almost 9, and Cili was 5. Just babies. Goodness how time flies. Just typing this makes me cry.
I picked John up from the airport and whisked him away to lunch with a friend and then to a hotel for some alone time. I hadn't told the kids he was coming. I had said that I was going to my friend's house to study for a big math test (something she and I did OFTEN!) and would be very late so I was going to stay with her and go to school the next morning from her house. Aunt Maggie would be staying with them.
John and I had a lovely day but at the hotel, his body clock was still in Iraq...he was asleep by 8 (I ordered pizza and ate alone, hehe) and up at 3 AM. He made nice with the girl at the front desk and convinced her to let him swim in the pool even though it was closed. Our friend Dorothea had put champagne, candles, rose petals, and a feather boa (wink, wink) in the room. We had a jacuzzi tub and chocolate...can't ask for much more. He didn't want to wake me, though, so he went swimming. It was cute
When we got up, he was so anxious to see the kids. I, of course, was not so much...after having been the only parent dealing with all their stuff it was a nice break for me. Also, I knew that our alone time would end as soon as we picked them up from school! But I understood his need to see them. He wanted to do something special and went to the store looking for a costume to surprise them with. Luckily, Wal-Mart does holidays WAAAAY too early so they had plenty of costumes out already. He found Spiderman and thought it was perfect. But he needed red socks. We drove all over the place...Hibbett Sports, KMart...couldn't find any. At this point, I'm irritated. If you know me at all you realize that I have a little OCD/ADD, whatever you want to call it. I get an idea of how things are "supposed" to be and when someone deviates from that it just absolutely killllls me! So, I had this image of John going in, hugging the kids, them being surprised, and all that happy lovey stuff. John, though, had some other plans. So, needless to say, I was being kind of bitchy about his little plan.
Stupid, silly me. Very petty. I'm still sorry for my attitude.
So John buys a bunch of gifts for the kids' classes, coloring books, posters, sticker books...cheap stuff to give to the class. And then one gift for each of the kids. All related to Spiderman (teeshirts, etc.). We stop by Aunt Maggie's house and she has a pair of red socks...the kind they give you in the hospital with the grippy things on the bottom. Perfect. Angel was in the driveway making a sign on a sheet to welcome him back. It was awesome! Here is the finished product...
We head up to the school and walk in the front door. Russom Elementary has a big rotunda in the center of the school and the cafeteria has a whole wall of glass that looks into this area. Spiderman came walking up and the cafeteria was full of kids. You hear them completely erupt! He runs past the windows and then turns around, puts his hands on the glass and a foot...like he's going to climb up. The kids are cheering and applauding. It was so fantastic! We then go to each of our kids' classes, one at a time. I stayed outside so they wouldn't know it was their dad.
Spiderman proceeds to talk to the class, telling them he has brought them gifts. He things they are the best kids and he wants them to know it.
Then he says, "But, Spidey has a special gift for...YOU (pointing to my child)...because he thinks you are very special! And so does...your DAD!!" and he pulls off his mask to reveal himself.
Teachers were crying, I was crying. It was truly one of those moments you wished you could video because it would be shown on the news and internet for years...just a PERFECT thing.
This is why I am so sorry for my attitude. Because I would have been happy to have a normal reunion...but my goodness what we would have missed if John hadn't done something this incredible.
These are a few pictures. It was just at the elementary, Cass was in middle school and too "big" for this type of thing...maybe, perhaps we shouldn't have assumed that...but the little ones got a big treat. The photo of Keegan running and the one with John and Cili move me to tears every time I see them. Truly fantastic to see the love between a father and his children.
OK, so not really a "quick" story...but if you know me, would you even have thought it possible? I bet when you read the word "quick" before you even giggled a little bit...haha!
Miss you babe...hurry home!
