The Return of the Commander
I woke up to the Chicken smacking me in the face.
Galaxy Girl had gotten her out of her crib and the Chicken is going through a bit of a hitting phase. Smacking me in the face is making her laugh really hard.
We fed the Chicken while I started on my first Mountain Dew of the day. Galaxy Girl wasn't going to stick around much longer but both of my in-laws would be over soon so there would be somebody here to watch the Chicken while me and my father-in-law go to John Wayne Airport to pick her up.
As I waited for the time to pass, I couldn't help but think about how much the Commander meant to me.
She doesn't know it but I am in awe of her.
I could list a string of adjectives describing how wonderful she really is but they would only embarrass her.
She may not be perfect...but she's perfect for me.
We've been together since the end of summer in 1993 and has been the person that I wanted to share everything with ever since.
It wasn't quite love at first sight...but it was pretty darn close. I knew from the beginning that we would someday get married and start our own family. Three had been the magic number for the Chicken, the Commander, and I. But maybe it was time to think about having another baby? I wonder if the Commander was having similar thoughts?
I table that thought as my father-in-law drives us to the airport. We will get there 90 minutes before the Commander's plane lands.
The drive over is uneventful but he gets excited once we are inside the airport terminal. This guy LOVES airports. I don't understand what he likes about them. Maybe it's because you can be witness to friends and family being reunited? People are really happy to see each other at the airport. You don't see too many folks getting off an airplane and immediately getting into a fight with the person that's there to pick him up.
We position ourselves directly across from the gate that the Commander's plane will be pulling up to. My father-in-law inspects our vantage point like a first-time director might block a scene before rolling film.
As with many events on the Commander's side of the family, this one will also be videotaped by my father-in-law.
Minutes peel off the clock and I'm getting antsy. I'm always nervous about plane landings and I stare at the arrival monitors to confirm that her flight still reads "On Time."
Finally, I see her plane.
I'm waiting for the gate doors to open.
My father-in-law tells me that he's going to go hide at baggage claim to capture some candid moments on tape.
The gate doors open and the passengers start to spill out.
The Commander won't be one of the first out. She'll wait for others to make a dash for it. She's known for being a little clumsy and after a long flight, she'll need to take it easy.
Although I'm some distance away, I can see a woman exiting the gate wearing what appears to be a blue flight suit.
The Commander didn't wear her flight suit on the ride home, did she?
I squint in an attempt to get a closer look and it's a negative. That's not the Commander wearing the flight suit. It appears to be the other teacher from Orange County that went.
But during those seconds that I was squinting, I miss the Commander coming out of the gate. She's back!
She doesn't see me and starts heading the opposite way from where I thought she'd be going. Damn it! She's going straight to baggage claim.
I change course and head down to baggage claim too so I can catch up with her.
I pop off the stairs and there she is. She finally sees me.
I watch her expression change as she sees me. She doesn't have to say a word because she's telling me everything that I need to know with just a look.
It's "I'm sorry about your dad" and "It's going to be okay."
I get closer to her and I realize that while she's not wearing her flight suit, she has picked up a new shirt to wear home.
It's a black t-shirt with Bert and Ernie on it.
I'm close enough to finally get what I've wanted for 3 days. We embrace and everything in the airport blurs for me.
it is just the Commander and I.
"I wanted to put a smile on your face the moment you saw me," she said referring to her shirt.
I am smiling but it isn't because of the shirt.
VW
Galaxy Girl had gotten her out of her crib and the Chicken is going through a bit of a hitting phase. Smacking me in the face is making her laugh really hard.
We fed the Chicken while I started on my first Mountain Dew of the day. Galaxy Girl wasn't going to stick around much longer but both of my in-laws would be over soon so there would be somebody here to watch the Chicken while me and my father-in-law go to John Wayne Airport to pick her up.
As I waited for the time to pass, I couldn't help but think about how much the Commander meant to me.
She doesn't know it but I am in awe of her.
I could list a string of adjectives describing how wonderful she really is but they would only embarrass her.
She may not be perfect...but she's perfect for me.
We've been together since the end of summer in 1993 and has been the person that I wanted to share everything with ever since.
It wasn't quite love at first sight...but it was pretty darn close. I knew from the beginning that we would someday get married and start our own family. Three had been the magic number for the Chicken, the Commander, and I. But maybe it was time to think about having another baby? I wonder if the Commander was having similar thoughts?
I table that thought as my father-in-law drives us to the airport. We will get there 90 minutes before the Commander's plane lands.
The drive over is uneventful but he gets excited once we are inside the airport terminal. This guy LOVES airports. I don't understand what he likes about them. Maybe it's because you can be witness to friends and family being reunited? People are really happy to see each other at the airport. You don't see too many folks getting off an airplane and immediately getting into a fight with the person that's there to pick him up.
We position ourselves directly across from the gate that the Commander's plane will be pulling up to. My father-in-law inspects our vantage point like a first-time director might block a scene before rolling film.
As with many events on the Commander's side of the family, this one will also be videotaped by my father-in-law.
Minutes peel off the clock and I'm getting antsy. I'm always nervous about plane landings and I stare at the arrival monitors to confirm that her flight still reads "On Time."
Finally, I see her plane.
I'm waiting for the gate doors to open.
My father-in-law tells me that he's going to go hide at baggage claim to capture some candid moments on tape.
The gate doors open and the passengers start to spill out.
The Commander won't be one of the first out. She'll wait for others to make a dash for it. She's known for being a little clumsy and after a long flight, she'll need to take it easy.
Although I'm some distance away, I can see a woman exiting the gate wearing what appears to be a blue flight suit.
The Commander didn't wear her flight suit on the ride home, did she?
I squint in an attempt to get a closer look and it's a negative. That's not the Commander wearing the flight suit. It appears to be the other teacher from Orange County that went.
But during those seconds that I was squinting, I miss the Commander coming out of the gate. She's back!
She doesn't see me and starts heading the opposite way from where I thought she'd be going. Damn it! She's going straight to baggage claim.
I change course and head down to baggage claim too so I can catch up with her.
I pop off the stairs and there she is. She finally sees me.
I watch her expression change as she sees me. She doesn't have to say a word because she's telling me everything that I need to know with just a look.
It's "I'm sorry about your dad" and "It's going to be okay."
I get closer to her and I realize that while she's not wearing her flight suit, she has picked up a new shirt to wear home.
It's a black t-shirt with Bert and Ernie on it.
I'm close enough to finally get what I've wanted for 3 days. We embrace and everything in the airport blurs for me.
it is just the Commander and I.
"I wanted to put a smile on your face the moment you saw me," she said referring to her shirt.
I am smiling but it isn't because of the shirt.
VW
posted by JVW at 10:32 PM
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