Going home, to me, means seeing family and friends. Through the Christmas celebrations I have seen most of my family and with New Years approaching, it’s time to see friends.
I have recently received word that my good buddy Tom, roommate and friend from undergrad, will be deployed to Afghanistan shortly after the first of the year, leaving a few precious days to see him until late in the year. As usual, I made the most of it. We started from the time he arrived at the airport.
My other buddy, Ross, and I began the preparations. We were best men in Tom’s wedding and thus are intimately familiar with his less than excitable nature. Thus in order to maximize his “comfort” when returning home we made beautiful neon colored posters to greet him with at the airport. The posters had great information and sayings such as “hey Tom, We’re over here” and “Tom is my hero”. While he showed little more than a sheepish smile as he realized the crazy people holding signs were his friends, I am confident that he appreciated it… right Tom?
We then left him with his wife for the evening and rejoined him the next day for a fantastic New Year celebration at Ross’s house.
The weekend culminated with spending all of Friday with Tom. Enjoying out usual Qdoba burrito, watching #4 ranked Purdue PUMMEL #6 Ranked West Virginia, and just catching up in general.
Leaving Tom that evening brought tears to my eyes, knowing the hardships that he and his family will be going through during the next many months.
Tom, as Ross’s dad would say “Don’t be Stupid”. Make us proud. We’re thinking of you and we’ll see you soon.
