I had been waiting almost a week after arriving in Alaska because the ETA was never confirmed and ofcourse with the military things are always changing, so I waited with other wives who were waiting as well. The days seemed to pass by slower than the days when they were actually over there. The anticipation and anxiety of finally having them home safe and sound in our arms at night and not having to say goodbye to them again at the airport was a feeling I will never forget.
I stayed the night at my friends house who was also waiting for her husband to arrive, and when we woke up the morning of July 26th her husband called her to tell her he had arrived at Eielson Air Force Base, which is located in North Pole, Alaska about a 20-30 minute drive to Fort Wainwright where thier duty station was and would be arriving with in the next hour or so. As soon as she got off the phone we started screaming like 2 little highschool girls that just won tickets to go see New Kids on the Block, lol. It really is/was THAT exciting. I mean you have all these emotions running through your body like your about to go on your first date with the man/woman of your dreams. I hadnt seen my husband in 7 mos, and had lost about 50 pounds total since he'd been in Iraq. He didnt even know I was coming to Alaska to welcome him home. You see, I moved to Florida when he got deployed to be closer to my family and friends back home while he was away. So going to Alaska to surprise him was a huge deal, lol. My Army wife friends were in on it too. Ofcourse I had to tell them, so I could have a place to stay when I flew up there until they all arrived home.
I arrived at the AHA on Fort Wainwright around 9 something in the morning I think, I honestly cant remember except for the fact that I knew it was the morning, lol. I already had a large redbull and was on my second, and smoked about 5 cigarettes with in 30 mins. I walked in with a couple other wives, and saw several people I hadnt seen in over a year. It was nice to be back in the "Army world" again. I never really thought I'd miss it. But when I returned back, and saw so many uniforms and spouses waiting for their soldiers, it honestly felt like home to me; the place where I belong, and immediatly felt closer to my husband and his life - something I hadnt felt in the whole year that he was gone. 
After seeing and hugging a few of my girlfriends, I went and found a seat, and tried so hard to wait patiently, but kept getting up and down out of my seat, lol. I couldnt sit still. The whole thought of surprising him was killing me, and kept thinking about how he was going to react. Finally the moment came and they all started marching through the big door in a formation. Everyone stood up and starting screaming and yelling - goosebumps immediately took over my body, with a flock of butterflies in my stomach. It was a big moment in my life, an important day that will never be forgotten. The whole company marched in and came to a stop. Everyone was standing on chairs and tippy toes to try and find thier soldier before they released them to their families. However, I was not standing on a chair or on my tippy toes, or even out in the open, lol. I was hiding every where I could so my husband couldnt see me.....for the big surprise, lol.
After they stopped, the commander said a few words, and then released them to go be with there families and take a mandatory 3 days off. Well, when the crowd broke, I was coming around the back peaking around people hoping I could sneak up on him....but actually the way it happened couldn't have been more perfect (tear). As I was sneaking around a large group of people, all of the sudden it was like everything started moving in slow motion. The crowd disbursed to left and to the right....I looked ahead of me, and saw a tall dark and handsome figure walking away from everyone towards all the duffle bags (as if he was going to pick his up since no one was there to welcome him home) But the figure wasnt close enough so I wasnt sure. As I was getting closer I saw this figure look over my way, he took a double-take, and then stopped. He kept looking at me as if I were a dream. At that point I could tell it was him. He stood there frozen as I ran up to him, and locked into an embrace like never before. We were both crying, and couldnt remember a time when we were EVER this happy. For me the feeling was almost surreal because after he was involved in the blackhawk accident in Iraq, I was so pessimistic about him coming home safely. And after feeling him again like that, all the fears and worries of this deployment were released. 
For anyone who is a military spouse, or has a friend or family member in the Armed Forces, you can relate to a situation like this. I am remembering this day because with in the next 24 hours some of our close friends will be arriving back home in Alaska from Iraq, and my Army wife friends that I have made are now about to have thier turn, and feel the pure joy and excitement of welcoming there spouses back home. I am so happy that they are returning home safely and unharmed. Godspeed to the rest of our other brothers and sisters out there defending our freedom. May God bless you and give each of you the strength and courage to continue fighting in harms way and also give your families the strength to continue supporting all that you do.
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