It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.

 
I just got off the phone with my wife. She was curled up at home, sick and miserable, but she’s all right.

I was going quietly crazy. I was already setting things in motion to end my duty here and go home a day and a half early, working through in my mind how many people I would have to call and how many things I would have to do. (And hating myself for not starting the process right away, the moment I heard she hadn’t arrived as expected Friday.) I was shutting down, wiping away everything except the problem right in front of me.

I was scared to death. Now … I can hardly move, I’m just limp with relief.

While I was talking with Susan, I got a call from my daughter (so now she knows her mother is all right) and from my unit’s First Sergeant (who promptly spread the word to everyone else who had become aware of the problem). I called Susan’s parents, and left a voice mail for our son, as he didn’t answer immediately on his borrowed phone.

I had no idea what I was going to do.

I married this woman all over again because she was the best person I’ve ever known.

Everyone who has been praying on our behalf, thank you. Thank you.

PS: she said she had sent a text message to our son, to let him know that she wouldn’t be arriving this weekend, but apparently the phone service was suspended before it was relayed to his phone (or before he checked). So she DID send notice, we just didn’t get it. A confluence of unfavorable circumstances, resulting in a day of mounting panic, and frankly I don’t care how scared I was now that it’s over and everything is good.