Still waiting for Christmas to arrive

Christmas has not arrived at my house yet because we are waiting for my son to come back from the middle east. He is leaving there on Monday Jan. 3rd and then he has to spend two weeks at his home base in Charleston SC then he is coming home for 3 weeks. We still have the tree up and all the decorations plus all of the presents are still under the tree. So we will have our Christmas then but I cannot take anymore turkey or ham so we are having barbequed ribeyes. Just hope the tree lasts that long.

Vi

Vi...I don't balme you one bit for postponing Christmas until the Son gets home!! Have a great reunion. Jo

Bless your heart for waiting. Barbequed rib-eyes sound great! I'm sure he'll appreciate your waiting for him!

I Know You Want Everything to be Perfect Vi but...
Who Cares About the Food and...
The Tree Can be Bare Branches with Needles on the Floor.

This Will be One of the Most Thankful,
Memorable Christmas' of Your Lifetime!

does he have to return the the middle east? It is so hard to say good-bye again. I bet they get so homesick once they return that they don't even want to go back.

Vi, what a wonderful Mom you are! I know this will mean more to your son that he might be able to express. And he'll never ever forget it. And I'm sure it will be a story he'll tell his future wife, and his kids and his grandkids. So no matter what the tree looks like by then, he'll think it's beautiful! Heck your entire house could be a complete WRECK and he'd think it was lovely just to be home.

Way to go Mom!

-Julie

Thank you all for your kind messages. Every day I have been counting the days and Windy no he does not have to go back, thank God for that. The only place he goes to when he leaves my house is Charleston, SC

Thank you all.

Vi

Vi - I can remember the excitment when My brother Tom would come home from the service, its just like pins and needles --- waiting and waiting , but oh what a joy when he makes it home! And your son will be so grateful that you waited and it will be a joyous time for all! Enjoy that time! Jill

This thread took me back to 1965. I was 18 years old at the time. A friend of my older brother was home on leave from Vietnam. He took me out for ice cream, and we had a nice talk. He was such a nice boy. We didn't talk about his time overseas, as I recall, but he did say it was quite an adjustment coming home.

He arrived in the wee hours of the morning, dead tired. His parents and siblings were so excited to see him. His mom fixed some early breakfast and they all had a million questions. He said it was almost surreal. When his mother offered him another cup of coffee, without a second thought he said, "Oh, f___ it, Mom, I think I'm just going to catch some sleep."

He said you could have heard a pin drop, and it took him a minute to realize what he'd said and how it registered with the family. In the previous wars, men traveled home on ships. It gave them time to adjust. The talk I had with that young man made me realize how difficult it can be to go from one reality to another in the time it takes to catch a plane home.

It's great that communications are so much better these days. Our sons and daughters can keep in touch with family and even see them as they speak. How amazing! It keeps home and family real.

I'm very happy for you and your family Vi - please tell us all about your Christmas when you can!