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Ethan's Homecoming

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We all agreed:  it seemed surreal to think about Ethan actually being home again.  To walk into a restaurant and ask for a table for "6" instead of the 5 people we have been for the past two years.  To see Ethan sitting on the couch, checking his favorite news websites.  To realize that we don't own a vehicle that actually seats all of us.

For me, it didn't hit until the day he was coming home.  Wednesday, July 11.  I was actually driving back to Michigan from Pennsylvania, and I thought of seeing his face again.  I was overcome with emotion.

Traveling from Poland, he had three different flights.  One from Warsaw to London, London to Chicago, and Chicago to Traverse City.  He was scheduled to arrive in Traverse City at 9:55 p.m.  We could hardly wait!

When we got to the airport, we realized that nobody had thought to bring balloons, or signs, or anything.  So, John came up with a cheer, and we were so desperate, and crazed with excitement, we actually went along with it :-)


Give me an "E"!


Give me a "T"!


Give me an "H'!


Give me an "A"!


Give me an "N"!

What does that spell?

"ETHAN"!!

We practiced it several times, and no, we didn't care what anyone thought of us :-)

To keep from having to monitor the gate where passengers exit, the Cherry Capital Airport lowers a gate.  It keeps out all the miscreants....



Finally, the gate went up, and the announcement came overhead that the plane had arrived (15 minutes late, I might add...cue mocking Zeus laughter)!

He was the second person off the plane.  As soon as we saw him (but still couldn't get to him), we started the cheer.  At full voice.  As loud as we could.

And that's when we saw it:  the Cheeser smile!


Oh my goodness, words can't describe how good it was to hold him in our arms again!



Everybody commented on the fact that he now looks like a MAN!!!

One piece of luggage didn't make it, but never fear, prepared Ethan was ... well ... prepared.  He had packed everything he needed for a day in his backpack.



Johannah offered him the first Reese's peanut butter cup that he had eaten in a while, and we headed back to Interlochen, and back to our happy lives.

Comments

  1. AngieJuly 16, 2012 at 12:59 PM

    Welcome home, Ethan!! I am actually crying just because this brought back to me the same sweet moment when Travis came home...I was there in that moment again! Reunions are so exciting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LinzJuly 16, 2012 at 9:00 PM

    So good to see the six of you together in a picture again! Welcome home, Ethan!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 22, 2012 at 11:13 AM

    YAY!!! Ethan finally made it HOME! Awesome photos. :)

    ReplyDelete

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