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| created by Angela Kropp |
Our day had arrived. With very little sleep or calmness since the news of Teddy's arrival home set in, we began our day yesterday with much excitement and anticipation of the hours yet to come. The moments we had only imagined for the past 5 months. They were going to happen now. Today. The kids went off to school, and I made my best efforts to gather myself, our house, and our life over the past months - I did not know where to begin. Laundry still needed to be done. The house still needed to be straightened. Welcome home signs still needed to be created. The lawn still needed to be cut. I never made my haircut appointment. The jeeps needed to be cleaned out. For a short while, I started to panic and stress that everything would not be just right for Teddy's arrival home. The phone rang - it was 8:00 am, and I had already begun my panic several hours earlier. Teddy was calling - just hearing his voice, and the excitement of him telling me, "I will see you later today", immediately put things into perspective. I was going to see my husband TODAY. I formulated a plan as we were speaking. It was almost as if his energy was traveling through the phone and fueling the pen as it wrote down my list - my plan of attack. I hung up feeling focused, driven and filled with strength to implement my plan. My plan was simple. Be ready to welcome home my husband. Be ready to receive a man who has been away from his wife, two children, family, friends, and regular life for five months. All of a sudden, some of the things I was stressing over became insignificant. My whole day's atmosphere changed from stress and lack of time to a wonderful, excitement filled day of preparation and anticipation of Teddy's arrival. I immediately began tracking his flight, which allowed me to be informed of exactly where he was and exactly how much time I had left to complete the "stuff" that needed to get done. The laundry got done, as did the straightening of the house. More trail angels enter the picture as my mom came by to help straighten up and share her artistic ability, and my dear, supportive friend, Angela Kropp, the creator of Teddy's amazing PCT hiker tee shirt came over with a nice lunch and created beautiful welcome signs for us to hold at the airport.
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| Angela, my mom and I painted this sign |
Things all came together for me, with outcomes exceeding me expectations. The only thing that mattered now, is that I was ready to welcome my husband home. Finally. I left at 1:45 pm, collected the kids and set off for the airport. Yes, I got there WAY EARLY... an hour and a half earlier than his estimated landing time. It's ok - I had plenty of time to hyperventilate over the thoughts of finally seeing Teddy after all this time. Plenty of time to imagine our reunion. Plenty of time to have my heart race at the thought of hugging him. Plenty of time to have tears of joy falling at the thought of him reuniting with his strong, patient children. It was an emotional hour and a half - one where I could not get a full breathe in at all.
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| created by Ken Beck |
Many of our friends and family gathered at the airport to show their support for Ted's arrival. Some of my strongest support over the past few months came from the family and friends standing beside me at the airport. My brother Kenn created the sign at right, originally to hang off the overpass of the Sunrise Hwy, but the wind decided otherwise, so he brought it to the airport for Teddy to enjoy. Jagger, Dakota, her boyfriend David, our cousin Cathy, my brothers Thomas and Kenn, my mom Ruth, Pattie and Derrick Grieco, Valerie and Christi Raia, Mike and Angela Arasa, Colleen and Mr. Conn, and Darien Maginn, our wonderful photographer all gathered, waiting anxiously, as we heard the announcement of Ted's plane landing.
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| created by Angela Kropp |
Each minute that passed on the arrival board felt like an hour, but as people walked down out of the gate, I approached an older man, and asked pretty abruptly, "Were you on the flight from Chicago?" After answering "Yes", and giving me a strange look, my heart began to beat right out of my chest, knowing that any second my husband, my hero, would be walking out of the arrival gate. And there he was. Scruffy, thin, hungry, but happy, proud, and loved. The photographs that Darien took captured those precious moments for me, and I will share as soon as she passes them on to me.
Until then, I want everyone to know that the amount of happiness, relief, pride, courage, support and love that surrounded us all was like nothing I have ever felt in my whole entire life.
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| created by Ruth Beck |
We have Teddy back home. You have your son, uncle, nephew, friend. My children have their dad. I have my husband. We have Scarecrow back home, safe, healthy and happy. The upcoming entry of our blog will give you a view into what Teddy has endured through the past 5 months. A pictorial journal of the struggles he endured, the triumphs he achieved, and the life he has lived away from all he knows. A beautiful ending to this chapter of a wonderful story that I was honored to tell.
~ The Thruhiker's Wife ~
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