Being gone 2 whole years- 2 whole years dedicated to serving others- takes a lot of faith, commitment, hard work, and dedication. Coming home after all that- I'm learning- isn't easy. We got home Friday afternoon- and it was just that -
not easy for the missionary.
Oh don't get me wrong, he wanted to be home... kind of. He knew his time was up- but he didn't want it to be. We drove into the driveway opened the garage door & we all got out. Everyone went into the house- Brett & I stayed back & helped get out the luggage. Brett carried it in- surely he thought we would be right behind him. He was wrong. Brian stood there and stared. Stared at the neighborhood- dazed.
You okay... ya.
Everyone started coming out wondering where he was.
He wasn't ready to come in yet.
After 15 minutes or so- we went in. After a couple of minutes in- he went into the office & started to cry. Brett went in with him, shut the door & there they stayed for a good hour. Emotional.
After that--- we opened some birthday presents we had bought him - new clothes.
Trent was like an obsessed three year old wanting to help & open. Not nice when your ten- sheesh- for heaven's sake! In his defense, the whole day was difficult for the little guy. So much going on- so many emotions- it was a lot for him to process.
Elder Miller came by. He was one of the missionaries great friends from the missionary training center. He stayed for dinner- pork roast, baked potatoes, a big salad with ranch dressing, brownies & ice cream... with root beer all by request.
We left for the church building where the missionary was officially released from service. Another rough time. He was asked to take off his mission tags- it took some time.
We made it home- just as the friends started arriving.
Rye bread & Whip
aka: ryan & greg - for some reason- years ago I gave all of Brian's friends nick names & they stuck with me?
Jaelynn all the way from Utah State!
Jaelynn, Whitney, Rye, Brian (notice the change of clothes?) and Laura.
It was a really fun night & weekend- more to come!
7 comments:
Great pictures!!!! I hope Brian liked all of his new clothes....lucky guy!
I am sure he will need some time to adjust to being home and back to regualr life. I am sure he will do great!
I love seeing pictures of him and his old friends. How fun. I'm glad they were able to come over. I can't imagine how hard it is to be home after working nonstop for two years. He's looking good though!
coming home is hard, especially after a new language, different clothes, different country, different people and food. not to mention the non-stop service.
he will find the next big thing to "dive" into and he will be great. so glad he's home to enjoy your yummy cooking requests! lucky guy!
I hear you, Patsy. It's so hard to watch them be so torn and homesick for their new land and people. And, to lose that representation when the name badge comes off--hard, hard, hard.
I'm so glad you blogged honestly about it. I didn't know how, so just sidestepped it, but I can still see our most recently returned missionary son just sitting with tears streaming down his face quietly in the dark when everyone else had gone to bed.
I'm so glad Brian had such a good mission and that he put his whole heart in it. A few weeks/months readjustment is much better than a mission where he didn't give his all, don't you agree?
Hang in there through the pain and adjustment. Good luck. You get to do it again in a few months.
How great to have all his friends over...and more will be home soon! I love his new sweater...you made a great choice!
WOW, I knew coming home was an adjustment. You are always one step ahead of me in life (except the grandma title). I am always grateful to see what is coming up next. Chad hit his year mark one week ago. Next Nov. I hope to remember Brian's adjustment time and be prepared for Chad.
I love to read how you are doing!
Oh, so hard. I am so glad that you wrote this post, Patsy. It gives us all a better idea of what it's like, what to expect. I knew it was hard for them to make that adjustment, but I never thought about that first day home, the re-entry, the tears...
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