You just never know....

The date was the 11th of September 2010 - and this time it was a great date! Erich was to finally come home to visit after finishing AIT and starting his first duty station in VA. It was also a Saturday and his Dad and I were getting all geared up to pick him up from the Airport that late evening.
The day started slow for I didn't have to work and sat at home with a cup of coffee thinking about how great it will be to see my Soldier. Erich had called and we talked on the phone for a while. Shortly after said phone call my doorbell rang. To be honest I have to say that I didn't feel like opening the door because let's face it, I was being lazy and wasn't even dressed yet and the last thing I felt like doing was talking to someone trying to sell me something at the door. And so I tried to ignore the bell but it rang again and the dogs barked loudly again. I peeked through the blinds and didn't see a car nor a person and I figured the mailman must've dropped something off. Just turned away from the window when the bell rang again!! Ok ok, I decided to throw some clothes on and see who insists on buggin me on a Saturday morning.
And I'm sure you guessed it.............................I opened my door and had a full fledged Soldier standing there with a big old grin on his face! My first reaction was a friendly tap on the back of his head together with the words: "you're not supposed to be here yet"! Followed by a big old bear hug and utter joy to have him home. I was not the only one happy:

                  

He had been in town since the night before, hidden by his friends, knowing all along that he wanted to surprise his parents. Guess that was the payback for his surprise going-away party back in April ;-)
Before showing up at home he had gone and scared his Dad half to death at his work, even managing to bring a few happy tears to Dad's eyes in front of everyone.

Since coming home he's been out a lot with friends. Trying to see everyone, spending the night here and there and everywhere, sometimes even at home. He's making sure to spend quality time with Mom & Dad as well and bring friends to the house to hang out and chit chat, we enjoy having them around. 

I'm at awe watching the man he has become while still being my friendly and sweet son. 
It'll be hard to let him go again come Saturday the 25th but then it will be time for him to start the next step in his journey and if all goes as planned he'll be back home for Christmas.

The moral of this story? You just never know who's gonna show up and ring your doorbell!