Tom

living out life
2007-12-15 07:42:35 (UTC)

A Memorable Christmas

In April, 1994, I was sent on a year long, remote tour to
Osan Air Base, South Korea. As a Staff Sergeant in the
United States Air Force, I was not allowed to take my
family. The year was filled with many highs and lows, but
the biggest high was when I came home for Christmas.

It had been over seven months since I had seen my wife and
children and I was eagerly awaiting seeing them again. We
planned it so the kids didn't know that I was coming home.
She left them with someone else and picked me up at the
airport. I can't even begin to describe the feeling of
seeing her as I got off the airplane (you could still wait
at the gate back then). There's something magical about
that first hug and kiss after being apart for so long.
It's the only good thing about being away.

When we got home, we placed a big appliance box in the
middle of the living room. I climbed inside and she closed
the top and wrapped it up. Then, she called the kids home
from next door. I remember hearing their excited voices as
they walked in and saw the box. They got even more excited
when she told them to open it up. I could hear their
little hands tearing the paper off as I crouched silently
inside the dark, cardboard box. Just when I thought they
had all of the paper torn off, I shot upward, forcing the
top of the box open.

My daughter, who was six at the time, started jumping up
and down yelling, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" My two year old
son, however, just stood there, eyes wide open. I climbed
out of the box and my daughter ran and jumped in my arms.
My son ran over and grabbed hold of my leg. I'll never
forget him latched onto my leg, holding on like he was
never going to let go. I finally managed to pry him off
and picked him up in one arm while holding my daughter in
the other. He buried his head on my chest and wrapped his
little arms around me as far as he could. It was an
awesome moment. Both of my kids were showing me how much
they missed me in different ways. My daughter, in an
excited, non-stop talking way, and my son as he silently
held on for dear life. It was a great feeling.

To be honest, I don't remember a single thing that I got
for Christmas that year. For me, the best gift was having
the opportunity to spend it with my family. Even though I
had to go back to Korea for another three months, the time
I spent with them at Christmas made that time all the more
bearable.




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