Our First Homecoming

It sounds strange, but since we had a long-distance courtship, I was never present for one of my Coastie's homecomings. Since the Coast Guard patrols are so much shorter than say, the Army or Navy, our homecoming's aren't as extravagant. However, they are no less emotional or beautiful. Here are some photos of our "first" homecoming on the crazy ride we call the Coastie life.

The boat coming into view. Such a beautiful sight to know he is safe!

Getting closer...

Almost to the pier!

Found him with the zoom on the camera! Holy moly, but he is handsome. 

The hardest part is waiting for the boys to disembark. They have to pull up to the pier, tie up, do some checks, and THEN they are allowed off to hug us. It took about an hour. The boys were just as impatient as those of us waiting on the pier!

Our sweet friends, the Edwards.

Here is a snapshot of the crowd trying patiently to wait for their Coasties. Not all the wives or girlfriends could be there, so we try to welcome everyone home as best we can.

By this point, I was so excited and overwhelmed to see him, that I forgot to take a picture with our camera. So the cell phone camera had to make do! I was shaking so much that it is a fuzzy shot, but you get the point. He was HOME!

"Semper Paratus"

Raise your hand if you know what that means.

No hands?

Anyone?

No? Okay, well "Semper Paratus" is the motto of the U.S. Coast Guard. It means, "Always Ready." The brave men and women of the USCG are always ready - for disasters, for hurricanes, for search and rescue, for law enforcement, for dinner to be disrupted, for plans with friends to be cancelled, for personal hopes changed, and to know that every time they take off that uniform, they will still have to be ready for anything.

So what does "Semper Paratus" mean for the families, wives, and friends left behind while the Coasties are out saving lives and defending the country? We, too, are always ready. We are ready to say good-bye. We are ready to help them pack their bags and kiss them a "see you later" kiss. We are ready to be alone. We are ready to keep living our day-to-day routine. We are ready to have our lives and jobs uprooted for the good of the Coast Guard. We are ready to defend our men and women when people ask what the Coast Guard really does. We are ready to have holidays, birthdays, and special moments without our Coastie. We are ready to support them. We are ready for that one phone call once a month. We are ready to welcome them home whenever that might be. We are ready for this challenge.

We are always ready.

I am ready.

Semper Paratus.