Saturday Surprise

I get surprises all of the time. Sometimes, they're funny, sometimes they're sweet. And sometimes, particularly with all of the goodbyes that have been happening around here lately, the surprises are poignant. And yesterday, when I inadvertently witnessed a homecoming, was no different. Having accepted an invitation to go holiday shopping with F. (my South Dakotan friend) and a group of her girlfriends, I was on post where we'd agreed to meet before heading out. The group was mostly assembled, awaiting the arrival of the last two girls, S. and her preschool age daughter Emma. Eventually, we saw them coming down the street when S. yelled, "Sorry ladies: no shopping for me today!" She explained that she'd received a phone call from her husband that morning: he was finally on the ground in Germany, on his way home after 6 long months in the desert. She began to reminisce about the deployment, how Emma initally asked about daddy all the time, and then, slowly stopped asking about him. Eventually, Emma began to refuse to talk to him when he would call home on the phone. Apparently, she hadn't asked about him in months, until Friday night. S. thinks Emma overheard a phone conversation about the impending reunion when she perked up and said,"Daddy coming home?" S. said she was so surprised: it was the first time she'd mentioned him in a very long time. Anyway, we hadn't intended to stay, but as we were talking, S. said, "There they are!" The soldier driving her husband's vehicle pulled up alongside the curb where we were standing, a few feet from S. and Emma. S. knelt down and said, "Emma, look, there's daddy." Emma said, "Nooooo. That's not daddy." S. tried again: "Emma, look: it's daddy." Emma strained her neck to see, and said, "It iiiiis?" Just then, S.'s husband stepped out of the truck, and little Emma, blond ponytail flying went running down the street and flew up into his arms. It was a sweet moment. And, when I turned around, I couldn't have been more surprised to see my shopping buddies, most of whom have been through deployments more than once, really fighting back the tears. I guess it doesn't need to be your family: the emotions are just right there on the surface. But the tears didn't last long: little Emma has her daddy back, and it was a good Saturday surprise...both for her, and those of us who got to see him come home!