SURPRISE!

Today I had an overwhelming, excited, ecstatic, EXTREMELY emotional, relaxing, comforting, productive day. The sun was out, the temperature was warm, and the mood of the day was brilliant.
The day started out like many other Saturdays (very tired from a long night of having too much to drink while sharing many laughs with some great people). I shuffled to my car and turned my radio off...driving home in silence while contemplating what I was going to do with my day.
Little man was very excited to see me, and shortly after I arrived home, we were heading out the door on a mission to spend money. We were with my niece, Bop, and my pseudo sister in law. The isles of T were extremely welcoming today, and we ended up buying the kids some new radio flyer tricycles, and a lot of other miscellaneous stuff. We headed to my mom's house, where naps were well overdue. Once little man was down for the count, I decided it was time to wash my car. I proceeded to wash a total of three cars...let's face it..washing a car isn't rocket science, and it was a great excuse to be outside enjoying the weather!!
The afternoon flew by, and before I knew it, we were all sitting down to a tasty dinner of hot dogs and burgers. We were JUST wrapping up dinner when I noticed my mom's car pull into the front yard like a bat outta hell. I immediately jumped to an "oh shit, what's wrong?!" conclusion, assuming that we had done something to piss my mom off (unintentionally)....I turned to the front door to gage the mood my mom was in...but it wasn't my mom walking to the door...it was Navy.
He had been saying he was coming home sometime soon. It felt like it was never going to happen. I had almost talked myself into believing that he wouldn't be home to visit until he was done with his contract (yeah, im a bit melodramatic!!).
But no...he came through...he came home...and I am so excited to get to know my brother again.
In all honesty...today felt like it was the first time my brother has come home in over eight years. His past has been so tumultuous that at times, I lost hope that he would ever be the same little brother I remember from my childhood. It appears as if he has grown from his mistakes, and become a great person.
Again, I can't tell you how happy I am that he's home....