However soon as I got home I had a week till Eric was home and tons of stuff to do! Shopping for presents, baking, cleaning and running errands. It was hectic, but stuff got done and Eric came home. The final days before December 15th happened were actually very odd for me. I was excited that Eric was coming home, but I wasn't like..."OMG HE'S COMING HOME FOR GOOD!' jumping around excited. I didn't get jumping around excited until the morning of the 15th and the whole day was just a blur. Getting up and thinking to myself: "he's going to be home today, he'll be back in the states and he will never ever have to go back to Japan." that was absolutely surreal. Finally, it was time to go to the airport and I immediately went and stood at the new arrivals gate. I couldn't stop moving, literally I was rocking back and forth for an hour.
And even though it took many groups of people before him for me to see him, Eric finally was there. He was home, back in the states from a 2 year deployment. For good.
This Christmas, I had several people ask me what I wanted and I just smiled and replied: I have everything I want.
This is true! Eric got 45 days of leave and is getting stationed in the same time zone as me, he will never go back to Japan ever again and the only time we will be separated is a deployment and frankly after Japan, I can handle anything! Bring it on! My father has a stable job and my mom is the best support system I could ever have. All of my animals are healthy and my family and friends are happy and healthy as well. Honestly, I have bad days and good days...but most of the time things go pretty well for me and I am thankful for that.
Christmas Eve was hard because every year we had the Bradshaw Christmas over at my Mamaw's. She wasn't here this year to celebrate with us for the first time and I don't think Christmas Eve will ever be the without her. But in the end, we had a great Christmas Eve! Full of laughing and 3 hours of shooting each other with Nerf guns and I am pretty sure Mamaw had to be smiling at us from heaven. I will never ever take a moment with my loved ones for granted ever again. Mamaw taught me that and I will continue treasure each moment with people that are important to me because you never know when that moment could be the last.
I am looking forward to 2013, to new beginnings and to a new future. It's going to be a big year for me but I think I'll be able to handle it! I think I need a new challenge in my life! :)
I want to end this last blog post with a few acknowledgments~
To my mom: Thank you so much for helping with Eric's deployment. The past two years were absolutely chaos sometimes and without you I don't think I would of been able to push through it. You inspire me and I learned a lot during the past two years, about myself and other people and I know I have you to thank for that. I love you mom!
To various family members: All of my family has been so supportive throughout this entire process, praying and thinking about Eric for the past 2 years and 1 month. I know a lot of you sent Eric cards and care packages that made him smile and so happy when he was going through hard times. It means so much to me that my family has my back and understands the situation I'm in and there are not words to express how thankful I am. Not to name any names, but! Sherry, Grammy, Granddaddy, Papaw, Mamaw, Aimee, Alan, Sam, Matt...you guys rock ;)
To my friends: When Eric and I found out that he was going to get deployed to Japan for 2 years, I was a complete wreck. And when I was upset, needed to vent or just needed someone to hangout with..I had the most wonderful friends to turn to. Ally: you are such an inspiration to me! You make the most beautiful things and I really hope that one day I can become an amazing military wife and mother like you! Brenna, thank you for listening to me and for always being there when I needed a shoulder to lean on. Nate, thank you for always going to the movies with me on random occasions or just hanging out somewhere ranting abut Bleach! :) Courtney! Where to start?! I haven't even met you and I count you as the sister I always wanted. You are absolutely amazing and I am thankful that I have you in my life, your wallposts, texts, cards and letters always make my day. Thank you for being my friend for the past 2 years and I hope one day we can finally meet and I can hug the crap out of you.
To my facebook, church and online friends: Thank you all for always asking about Eric, liking my things or just talking to me when I'm feeling blue. It's nice to know that even though we don't see each other on day to day basis, that people care about Eric and I and his well being when he's doing crazy things like jumping out of planes. All of you make me smile and thanks for supporting us.
Thank you all, I know I couldn't of done this without you. Bring on 2013!!!
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