Our son Tyson will be stationed at Kusan Air Base in Korea for one year beginning in December 2010.  This is considered a “hardship” tour, which means he has already been given his follow-on assignment (where he’ll be headed after Korea).  The good news: He will be stationed at Scott Air Force Base in January 2012 which is only about one hour from where we live.

So now we can look forward to having Tyson close by.  He enlisted in the Air Force in 1996 and he has lived on or near the following Air Force bases: Lackland (Texas), Keesler (Mississipppi), Vandenberg (California), Tyndall (Florida), Ramstein (Germany), plus two deployments to Iraq, and now Kusan (Korea) and finally Scott (Illinois).  After what will be 15-1/2 years of service he will finally be home (or practically home).  We have the next 18 months to anticipate his homecoming!  It’s hard to believe that he has been in the Air Force now for 14 years and so I hope that the next 18 months flies by for him.  But I don’t really want to wish his life away…

Praying that Scott Air Force Base would be his follow-on assignment seemed too selfish so my prayers were that he would be sent somewhere that would improve his life and his career and if that happened to be Scott it wouldn’t be such a bad thing!  Now that we know for certain that he will be close-by the anticipation is that much greater. 

It’s strange when wishing and hoping and praying are suddenly replaced by dreaming and planning and envisioning.  I’m looking forward to simple things with Tyson – taking in an occasional Cardinals baseball game, having Sunday dinner together, just hanging out.  Of course there are the important things, too – having him near his daughter again (they’ve been separated for almost a year now), having him home for all the holidays, him not having to miss out on weddings, funerals, graduations, etc., and finally being able to buy or build a permanent home.

So we will wait in joyful anticipation.  But I’m not a good ‘waiter’.  Patience is not my strong-suit and I want him home now.  Today!  But who knows what great experiences he will encounter in the next 18 months?  Living and working in Korea alone is an opportunity not afforded to most of us.  It will undoubtedly benefit him both personally and professionally.  

So one prayer is answered and a new one begins:  “God please help me be patient!”

Peace,
Denis