Today is Christmas Eve. I was asked by some coworkers to go to the airport this morning. I decided to go, and am now SO happy I did.
We didn't just go to the airport to pick up someone, or to see someone off, but to welcome home active duty soldiers from the United States Armed Forces. I was amazed at how many people came who didn't have anyone to say hello to.
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| The Crowd that came |
I thought I was going because I wanted to give holiday cheer to all those who have been at war. But the opposite happened.
When I got to the crowd of people everyone had signs, and balloons. This crowd clapped every time someone new walked through the door. It didn't matter if they knew them or not. There was also patriotic music playing in the front.
Many of the soldiers couldn't stop smiling. You could tell the soldiers that were coming home for the first time. It was like they were in a parade. They would look around, they were soaking it all in.
I was almost overwhelmed just watching them come home. But 3 times brought me to tears.
First, When a soldier who was wounded came through. He was on crutches, and walking with the crutches, so it could have been an ankle or a knee sprain; but you could tell as soon as most to the crowd saw that he was on crutches they all erupted in a loud cheer.
Second, when a soldier was walking towards the exit, and his wife/girlfriend finally broke through the croud. She ran up to him, and flung her arms around him. I have never seen a man literally melt into a woman now that he was home.
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| Waiting on Mom |
Lastly, a family who was waiting on their mother. 3 girls, I would guess their ages were 7, 9, and 14, and their father. The dad would put the youngest up on his shoulders so she could get a better view of her mom coming through the gate. They were waiting right there for about 20 min. I could tell that the middle child was getting antsy for her mom to come. She kept trying to look around people, and the sign that she held fell down a few times.
Finally the mother came out of the gates. I don't even remember which child saw her first. But when they finally saw here, all three children lit up with glee. I was lucky enough to get a video of their reunion. It's not a great video, but you can see the emotion.
Also when you listen to the video you will hear a lady in the crowd on the right. She is yelling out "Jared" and then a soldier with red hair comes to go home with his family. The reunions with the families was the best part about today. I could see how much the families missed the soldiers, and how much the soldiers missed their families.
I think this is going to become my new Christmas Eve tradition. What a great way to really say Merry Christmas, than to welcome home soldiers from a long time away from their families. So Merry Christmas to all those who served our country to keep it free. We do appreciate all you have or are doing. I hope that you had the same experience getting home as these soldiers did.
