Come Home Safe, Daddy

My Family

Brandon is officially at mob in preparation to be sent over seas. While he is fighting in operation 'enduring freedom'' I am fighting in 'operation stand by my man'. And even though being an army wife isn't what I signed up for when Brandon and I first got together, I am proud to be a faithful Army Wife. I wasn't exactly prepared for what Brandon being away from home would bring into life. But we are learning to deal with it. Layla is learning that daddy is "fighting for freedom" even though she doesnt' exactly know what that means, and I am learning even more patience.

The past few weeks I have gotten to know and trust the guys in his unit. The first week Brandon was home on leave we were flown to Las Vegas with his unit for breifings, and the last few days of leave we spent at family days. I am getting use to being called 'Phillips' and becoming more accustomed with the 'last name' basis. Layla gets a little confused as to which tall person in camo is daddy, adopting a series of 'camo daddys'. It has also been great to get to know more of the army wives from Brandon's unit. The head of the FRG is already concocting ways of making time go by faster by having little parties once a month with all of these wives and their kids.

The night Brandon the head of the FRG had a band come play, with a candle light ceremony. She even had bikers come so that when they got on the buses they would have an escort to Hill Air Force Base. All of the bikers lined up and held flags while all of the soldiers put their stuff on the buses said their last goodbyes to their familys and then boarded the buses. Kids were screaming for their daddies to come back, while the wives would try to keep them from jumping out their arms to run to the buses. It was heart breaking to see. We had Layla and Harmonee say their goodbyes earlier in the day since he wasn't leaving until 1 a.m. Layla cried the whole way to grandma and grandma Phillips house. After I got her into her jammies she laid down on the couch with a blanket, asked for a cup of milk, and silently cried herself to sleep. I can't wait to give her the brief reunion at thanksgiving. 3 days is better then no days, and hopefully this next year will go by more smoothly and quickly for her.