vacation III

Well, the time came and went that quickly. I cannot believe it. I was so happy to be home with my two girls but the sand of time just slipped between my fingers. I couldn't stop it. Damn, it's that sand again. If it's not the sand of time then it's the sand of this god-forsaken land that's bringing me down. I have had enough of that "sand". And to make things worse it's hotter than hell here.

The time spent with my wife and daughter was absolutely wonderful. I truly feel recharged. I was about to blow a gasket just before I left to come home. Everything was making me mad. I am just glad I didn't bring that home to my house.

When Steph and Brianna first walked up to me I fought back tears. It was the most wonderful site I had seen. Now I have to hand it to the Army/military for their expediency in getting me home (I am sure they did it just for me but Joe Biden's son was on the same flight as I was so he can thank me later). I just wish they hadn't brought all those people to meet me in Atlanta. It was so embarrassing. You would have thought I was something special like the Vice President’s son. Funny though out of all those people there no one talk to me??? Well as I had mentioned, I got to Atlanta much quicker than expected, like several days earlier. I wasn’t able to tell Steph I was coming home sooner than expected so I had to wait till I got to Atlanta. Did you know that from the airport in Ireland they charge $14 (or it could have been euros) per minute to call back to the states? Well, I wasn't going to pay that so Steph just had to wait till I got on US soil to call her. I called her when I hit Atlanta and told her I was in the states and was about to catch a flight home so she had about 2 hours to come pick me up from the airport. This again is with her thinking she wasn't going to come pick me for another 48 hours! Surprise!! To say the least she was in panic mode. She had arranged for a photographer to take our pictures when we met at the airport. She wanted to meet me while I was deboarding but as luck would have it I got home quicker than expected. Yeah, I had to call Steph and tell her I was already home at the airport and that I would be waiting for her outside. She was probably freaking out at this point. Now one thing I can say is that people are still genuinely thoughtful and truly support our troops. While I was waiting outside the airport for Steph I had no less than 3 different people come up to me and ask if I needed a ride somewhere. They didn't want me to have to pay for a cab or wait for someone to come and pick me up. I thought about taking one of them up on their offer but I don’t think the wife would have liked that idea. Instead I thanked them and told them the story about me getting here earlier than expected and that I was waiting for my wife to get out of bed and sober up to come pick me up. Just kidding.

So, I was sitting outside waiting when this guy came up to me and asked if I was Captain Bryan McFarland. I said “no” of course because the military commercials we have been watching over the past 8 months have been non-stop about conspiracy and protecting your identity. I think that guy was the photographer and he had his wife with him. Steph was pretty mad that I denied who I was. Just kidding. I told them that I was indeed him because my name and rank is ON MY UNIFORM! They were really nice people. They waited with me till Steph and Brianna got there. When I saw them coming up the stairs I left my bags and took off toward them. I guess the whole idea of not leaving your bags unattended didn’t matter to anyone at that point. Stephanie had this yellow dress on and a yellow flower in her hair. She had Brianna dressed in yellow as well. They were such a beautiful site. When I saw Brianna she had this look of "Is that you daddy? No it can't be you, you are on the computer" and covered her face into Steph's leg. I can't lie it was a little hard to take. I wanted her to come running into my arms and for me to snatch her up. Instead it took about 5 to 10 minutes for her to warm up and realize that I was really there. After that it was like me and Brianna went together like peas and carrots. I couldn’t go outside without her screaming “daddy, daddy where are you going”. Now tell me how am I supposed leave that? To say the least the plane ride back to this god-forsaken wasteland was very difficult for me. Brianna on the other hand seem to handle it pretty well and when Steph returned home she had her mother waiting on her. I can’t thank her enough for spending the time driving down there to be with Steph. Thank you Dinah!

I will be back home soon. I love you both!