A sleepily joyful homecoming

I’m sorry these are blurry. My camera was (is still) buried in the piles of luggage, so my phone was all I had handy for these pictures, taken at 3 a.m. this morning.

My son is home, living here for the next month until he heads to Germany. I am happy and occasionally overwhelmed by grief. How does anyone survive their children leaving home? I think it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

My first sight of Kevin on Thursday was a huge grin before being enveloped in a hug. We had a nice low-key day. We took Kevin to a restaurant he’d heard about from his drill sergeants and wanted to try. It was delicious. We hung out in the air-conditioned hotel room, watched TV, napped, and talked. We went shopping at the Exchange. On Friday, the graduation was at 9 a.m. The ceremony was rousing and funny and just the right length. A nice rite of passage with no boring parts. Apparently the Army knows what it’s doing. Afterward Kevin did a little more shopping on post, we had lunch, changed clothes, and got on the road about 2 p.m. It was a very long ride home.

My son is impossibly beautiful. I don’t know why the girls don’t swoon everywhere he goes. He’s full of stories and swear words. He’s calm and confident and has a new level of self-awareness. He calls waitresses and cashiers ma’am. He has ambitious plans for his future. He drinks Monster energy drinks like water. He eats fast but healthy and less than he used to. He sang cadences for us in the car. I didn’t even know he could carry a tune. He missed music most during his training. He made good friends, some of whom he will miss and many of whom will be waiting for him in Germany. He probably won’t be deployed until late next year. He still wants to be a mechanic. Or a weapons specialist. Yes, that sounds like my son.

He’s still Kevin, but he’s grown. He’s bigger and smaller all at the same time. It’s good to have him home.