<p>Now here’s a story. We were supposed to go to the airport tonight to pick up our mid coming home from an MSC replenishment oiler somewhere in the area of the Indian Ocean/Persian Gulf neighborhood. This past Sunday we were just home from spending the weekend in another town for Little League Allstars for our 11 yr old. I was getting the Sunday mopes thinking about the coming week at work when my nephew pulls up our long driveway. We live in a very rural area that is not on the way to anywhere so it was odd, but nice, to see this nephew who rarely stops by. He said he needed to show his Aunt and me something in his Toyota 4Runner. I’m thinking, “Great we get to keep another stray college dog on our farm” As he turns down the rear window sitting in the back is this scruffy person —whoa it’s my boy! We all go wacko jumping up and down. It was great-- pure joy. We live about 4/5 of the way across the country from KP so we havent seen alot of our mid in the last 2 years (maybe 30 days in the last 2 years) so every extra day counts big. He definitely has the salty sailor look about him. The sea stories are starting to come out in slow but steady drips. I figure if I get to hear 65% of the sanitized stories and his mom gets about 40% we’ll be good with that. I’m sure there are some stories that are better left to tell among his fellow mids. He has always been a fairly confident kid – but its even more apparent now. After spending 90 days in the area around the Sandbox and the Horn of Africa, he very much appreciates our corner of the world. I myself am straddling the border of envy and jealousy when looking at his life. To all you new candidate parents, especially those that aren’t within an 8 hr drive or non-stop flight from KP, hang tough. When you see your mid after their first sea year experience you will know this was all well worth the wonder.</p>