The Bus...

...and The Plane.

If you don't read Kelle Hampton's blog, Enjoying The Small Things...you should. It's great and she is very inspirational. She truly loves life and tries to soak up every minute of it. I'm totally ripping her off right now with the term "The Bus" so I had to give her some credit. We've all felt like we've been hit by a bus at some point in our life. We've all had tough things to deal with and overcome. And this will be overcome too but right now this is my bus....

...the bus (literally there was a bus) that my brother boarded and was driven to an airport...and then boarded a plane to be flown to Wisconsin...and in a couple weeks flown to Afghanistan. I'm really not a fan of buses or planes right now! (Sorry no picture of the bus...bad Marti!)

We all met at the armory in Graniteville, SC...now the moment really was here. So there we were with our puffy eyes and heavy hearts. No one knew what to say or do. We were numb. So we did the best we could. We encouraged each other, lifted each other up, and most of all lifted my brother up. I could tell this was killing him. I know him better than anyone and when I saw him looking at Jeanna that day I knew his heart was being ripped in half. Chris did manage to get a couple of smiles out of them for some pictures though.

Nick my brother's best friend drove all the way up from Florida to surprise him. Which I know my brother loved but it was just another person he had to tell bye.



Dad and Deb were there with Mama Hancock, Chris and I were there with Ivy. The whole family, except for my Grandma because there is no way she would have been able to stand for that long.






And of course our two Grandfathers were there in our hearts...two veterans that proudly served our country and would be proud of my brother for serving as well. Granddaddy Reese served in the Korean War and Papa served in WWII.

Granddaddy Reese

Papa Hancock

Me and my Baby Brother. So what if he's bigger than me. He's still my baby brother. I love him and I wouldn't take anything in this world for all of our times together. Good times and bad, we've cried and laughed together. We've been through a lot together and it has made us stronger.




Ivy has gotten to where she only poses for pictures when it's her idea. And I think she could sense the tension in the air that morning and I don't think she was much up for pictures. We talked about it with her and told her Uncle Cliff was going away to march for a long time (how else do you explain it to an almost 3 year old). And she kept telling him to march good for America. We thought that was the sweetest. And she loves her Uncle Cliff and he loves her right back. I love to watch them play together...oh yeah, she has him wrapped around her little finger too.






And then there was Mom.

Mom...telling her baby goodbye. I can't imagine how hard that is.

The rock this entire time has been Jeanna. The love of my brothers life. I haven't seen her shed one tear this entire time. She has been strong and steady. Just watching my brother look at her that day makes me so sad. I could see how much he truly loves her and how she was not only the rock through this whole thing but she is his rock. She had told him "you will come home to me so don't do anything stupid."






I've only seen my Dad cry a couple of times in my life. He is a very emotional person and always tells you how he feels. Even if it comes out sounding a little silly or awkward he never holds anything back. You always know just how he feels. He says "I Love You" more than any other person I know. But it is so hard for me to see my Dad cry. So when I looked over and saw him talking to my brother and they both had red teary eyes I felt it deep in my heart. They looked like they were a little awkward talking to each other, like maybe they were both trying to be tough manly men, but they got to say what they needed too.



We spent about an hour or so there and we soaked up every minute.





Then they started calling for the soldiers and my brother marched over to formation and they had a little pep talk and a prayer. They were told to go tell their families goodbye and then go to the bus. Sure, the families were allowed to go to the airport but there was no guarantee that we would be able to see them. Then "The Bus" hit Jeanna. He hugged her and kissed her and she lost it. She cried and screamed and whaled. It was a cry of love. Then we really lost it, Mom and I had been crying all morning and night of course but when we heard Jeanna finally break down we almost collapsed. She wasn't just Clifford's rock, she was ours too. She had everyone crying...Dad, Deb, and Mama Hancock, crying. I think Chris and Ivy were probably to only two that held it together. It takes my breath away still just thinking about that moment.



Then we were saying our last words of encouragement.

I gave him a pat on the butt and said "good game" and "don't think I won't come to Afghanistan and kick your butt." I know it's cheesy but it's what I awkwardly said.

Dad yelled out "I love you son!"

Chris yelled out "Go kick some ass!"

I don't remember Mom or Jeanna saying anything...they just hugged each other. Ivy just waved her flag proudly and looked at us all and said "It's okay....smile!" Just like her Uncle Cliff told her to do.

They got an escort to the airport by a motorcycle gang and police cars. And no matter what you think of motorcycle gangs they are always patriotic and love America. It took what felt like forever to get to that airport but everyone knew that caravan was coming. All the businesses had people standing outside waving and saluting and holding there flags and yellow ribbons.

We all followed hoping we could see them one last time.



When we got to the airport they parked the buses and wouldn't let the soldiers off. We got out so Ivy could look at the planes. She loved the planes and she loved how windy it was. She was so excited that Uncle Cliff was going to fly on a plane. She wanted to fly on one too.



We were waiting and waiting and waiting and then the buses started moving. We didn't know where they were going. They just turned around and started driving somewhere else. We were all outside of our cars watching and wondering. Was that it? Are they gone? Will we know when it's their plane is taking off? Then someone opened the door to a private hanger for us. We were all so relieved. So we walked in and got to spend some more time with our soldiers. The mood was much more relaxed. We actually got to spend probably a good two hours with them. It seemed like the hard part was over...

...that is until they marched to the plane. While the pictures above aren't the best of me and my brother I love them so much because they truly capture how I felt that day. I was trying to take pictures and Jeanna was trying to video while we cried and hugged each other. As my brother walked to that plane he looked so sad. He kept turning around and looking back at us like he couldn't believe it was really happening. I could tell he needed something...I don't know what came over me but I yelled as loud as I could the one thing I knew would make him smile...."GO DAWGS!" I was amongst many South Carolina fans and got some strange looks but I got a smile and a point from the person that mattered.

After all the soldiers were on the plane it sat there for what seemed like 5 hours but it was really 45 minutes. It was HOT out on that pavement and only getting HOTTER by the minute. But we still waited for that door to shut and the plane to start moving.




The plane started moving and we knew it would only it would only be a matter of minutes but instead we waited some more. The plane had rolled past us. It was plain white with a very small American flag on the back and the name "Ryan." I've never seen a plane named before but none of us are real fans of that name now. I think it's pretty safe to say none of Clifford and Jeanna's kids will be named "Ryan." But it had gone really far down the runway where we could barely see it and it just sat there some more. And while none of us were in a hurry for them to leave, at this point I was feeling like "Really? Could you guys drag this out any longer for us?" It seems that dragging it out only makes it worse.




Now Ivy was a champ the whole time but we could tell that she was getting tired and thirsty. Since it had been forever I said I would go inside to find a drink machine to get her something to prevent a possible meltdown. I swear not 10 seconds after I walked away my cell phone started ringing. It was Mom and then I heard the Jet engine. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! Jeanna said "Oh no Marti's gonna miss it!" and her sister Allie said "Nah, Marti won't miss it!" I went running through that airport hanger like a gazelle trying to escape a lion. I think I might have even actually jumped over a couple of people that were sitting on the ground inside the hanger. I barely made it back in time to see the plane lift off and fly out of sight.

Allie said "See, she didn't miss it."

Then it was over and we left. We stopped at Zaxby's since we hadn't eaten and we laughed and talked and pretended we hadn't been crying all morning and then drove home. We were all so tired and worn out but Ivy was the only one that got a nap.

And in the word's of my precious Ivy-girl..."March Good Cliff!"

See you next August Clifford!