3 Smiles and a Million Hugs

(I feel a little funny blogging about a homecoming I didn't attend, particularly when a significant number of people reading this know the family better than I do! But alas, I blog anyway. For those of you that don't know them, they are not related to my Scott family. Actually, I could probably find a relationship through some distant marraige, but I'm not going there.

As you read this, keep in mind that I've made up what I've written. It's simply what I thought I saw in the pictures. I've linked to the real story within the blog.)

Captain Christopher Scott has been in Iraq since 1952. OK, it hasn't been that long, but it must seem like it to his family. I must admit, I don't know Chris and his family as well as I would like to. It's a matter of miles. We live miles apart and don't get to spend as much time as I would like to getting to know each other. Then again, the last time I tried to spend quality time with Chris by waking him up for an early morning fishing trip, I accidentally woke up the family matriarch and spent some unplanned, awkward, NOT quality time with his grandmother. (A different story for a different day.) I've gotten to know his brother Randy pretty well since I started listening to his morning radio show on Froggy 99.9 FM. Since I'm in Boston I listen online. (You should too. His partner Mike and he make a great team.) His mother, Judy, follows my blog and has been gracious enough to not call me a liberal moonbat. His father, Steve is great too. He never got upset at me for breaking his bench grinder some years ago. Then again, I'm not sure I ever told him. (He'll never know.) Come to think of it, I imagine they may be happy to have me 435 miles to the north! I know Chris, Mindy, and their little ones- Luke and Will- least of all. So I was a bit taken aback by how emotional I got looking at the pictures of Chris's recent R+R homecoming from Iraq.

The pictures in the blog were taken by a photographer from the Salisbury Daily Times. I imagine it was difficult to choose which one to include in the paper. I feel like each and every picture tells a very emotional story. Granted, I wasn't at the homecoming, and I've already stated my shortcomings when it comes to how well I know the family, but I couldn't help but feel like I knew what was going through thier hearts and minds as those pictures were taken. I see three disctinct smiles from Mindy.
The above picture is obviously focused on Mindy and the boys as they get their first look at Daddy as he comes through the door, but I'm drawn to the expressions on his parents' faces (on the left of the picture). Have you ever seen a prouder dad? I don't think so. And Judy, look at her hands- all clenched in happy anticipation of the long hug that I'm sure occurred within minutes of these pictures. Moms can't smile any bigger than that. If I know Judy at all, she also cried before they left the airport. Mindy's got a lot going on here. I don't think that she's made eye contact with Randy yet, but more importantly, she's concerned with how the boys, primarily Luke react when they see their daddy. She so wants him to recognize Chris and be excited to see him. That's so obvious to me in the next picture.




Of all the pictures taken, this is probably the most poignant one for me, and it's all about the expression on Mindy's face. Smile number 1 is the "hopefully expectant" smile. It reminds me of Christmas morning when I'm watching my kids get their first glance at the presents Santa has left for them under the tree. We never wrap the biggest and best one. And I watch for that excited reaction that Santa imagined they'd have when Santa made the gift. (Similar to this.) That's the expectant look on Mindy's face...only times 1000. I get the idea she feels that of the whole visit home, this is the most important moment. She's clearly watching, waiting, and asking for recognition. I can almost hear her saying, "Hey, Luke! Look who it is!" And I think I can hear her thinking, "Will he remember him? Will he be happy? Will he be excited? Please be happy and excited! See how happy and excited mommy is? Please be this happy and excited! Daddy needs you to be happy and excited..." Chris seems to be a bit more nonchalant about the reaction. He's happier and more excited than any of them. Luke could walk up and kick Chris in the shins and he'd be happy! OK, maybe not, but then comes smile #2...




...the "sweet relief" smile! While the previous picture was the most poignant, this is the one that brings tears to my eyes...still. All those questions I imagined were going through Mindy's head were answered exactly like she had hoped. She can breath again. Luke looks a bit overwhelmed, but happy just the same. I can't see Will's face, so we can leave his face up to the imagination!




Clearly Will figured it out too. And I believe Chris was surprised to find Will walking. This is the third smile I've seen on Mindy's face- this time pure joy. It looks like it took everyone about .5 seconds to get comfortable again.




This final picture captures something unique in the lives of military families during times of war. Each and every moment they spend together increases the total amount of family time they've ever had at an exponential rate. By the time I got around to writing this blog entry, Chris is well into his R+R and I'm sure he's treasuring these days in his heart. Unfortunately Chris came down with a cold and Luke got a rather nasty stomach bug. (This info came from Mindy and Chris's blog. This is where you can find the real story about the homecoming from Mindy's perspective.) Perhaps it's just as well that Luke is feeling yucky, my kids snuggle a lot more when they're sick. I'm sure Chris wouldn't mind extra snuggling time!

(While I'm confident nobody in Chris's immediate family voted for President Obama, I'm sure they'd be happy if Chris was home sooner as a result of the election!)