First read Part One here to more fully appreciate this series.
Part Two: Joy
I never thought I’d be a Navy mom.
Never, in even my wildest dreams.
My daughter is now serving as an officer in the US Navy, and I couldn’t be more proud!
For Christmas this year we paid for pricey plane tickets to fly her home for 10 days. She sent screenshots of her itinerary through Atlanta to Seattle, with a return trip via Detroit.
As always seems to happen every end-of-year, a lot of tasks get scrunched together. I was balancing the books for my new business, seeing a final few patients before my vacation, and thinking about last-minute gifts, which seems to be my usual modus operandi.
Mixed into the final frenzied weeks I had a number of personal medical appointments, blood tests, diagnostic imaging, and consultations. My daughter was following along via texts and was hoping my upcoming weekend – the one prior to her arrival – would be restful.
I was finally able to make time for the Christmas tree outing (see Part Three for the story!) and she laughed at the naked tree picture I texted. I hoped I would have time to decorate before she came.
Two days before her arrival I had finally finished decorating the tree, hanging up the stockings, arranging holiday cards, and taking pictures to eventually text her. She called and I dashed to get my phone which was in another room.
She said, “Go check the front porch, there is a present for you.”
I eagerly opened the door.
Nothing.
Well, it wouldn’t be the first time a delivery service marked a package as delivered when they hadn’t yet arrived.
I went back inside, still on the phone, and said there was nothing there.
She said, “Go look again.”
And there she was – running on the sidewalk, still on her phone with a huge smile, up our steep sets of stairs in a flash and into my arms for the biggest hug ever!
Two days early.
The perfect present.
I couldn’t stop crying,
Tears of joy.
Click here to read Part Three!