July 21, 2011

Dear Joe,

YOU’RE HOME! You’re finally home. Yesterday, I woke up early. Two hours before I needed to be at your parents’ house. I absolutely couldn’t wait. I drove to your parents’ house, and we got in the car. The car ride went surprisingly quickly! But we got to the airport an hour and a half before your sister’s plane landed. Lol I was so bored! Of course your flight was delayed :/ Shannon landed (It was really good to see her again, too!) and then we went to wait for you. I was SO impatient. It took about 30 minutes between the time Shannon found us to the time you finally came out. Standing there in front of those doors was torture… I wanted you to be there RIGHT THEN! It felt like it was taking forever. There was a family right next to us waiting for their daughter to return from Afghanistan. That was really awesome to see, too. Everytime I heard those doors open I would get my hopes up. They were teasing me! Haha eventually, I saw you walking towards us. I ran up as close as I could to the doors to wait for you. When you looked up and saw me, we both smiled so big. You walked out and we had our first hug after two and a half months. It was amazing. Your parents were so excited to see you, and you were so surprised to see Shannon! It felt so good to finally see you again. I love you forever and ever and ever.

Love,
Amanda