4 little girls welcome Dad home
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| Two of Iowa Army National Guard Cpl. Joe Brewer’s four girls, BayLeigh (left), 6, and Emery, 5, cut down the ribbon they attached to their tree a year ago, when their dad left for his third deployment. It was one of three yellow ribbons – one for each of his missions – that they got to cut down, now that Dad’s home for good. (David Rauch/drauch@saukvalley.com) |
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MORRISON – This time the four little Brewer girls got to cut the yellow ribbon tied around the tree in their front yard.
Their father, Cpl. Joe Brewer, was home from Afghanistan for good.
He was back in February for 2 weeks after the birth of Charley, now 6 months, but despite the girls’ excitement, they weren’t allowed to cut the ribbon.
“It was really great that you got to see her after she was born,” Chelsea Brewer said to her husband. “But you finally get into a new normal, and then it’s kind of shaken up and then you’ve got to go back to that.”
The Brewers, both 27, have put up a yellow ribbon for each of Joe’s three deployments, said his mother, Pam Jones, 48.
“With this third tour, mom gets ...,” Jones broke off with a nervous laugh. “It’s been stressful. Every time before he goes he tells me he’s coming home.”
Skype and Facebook really have helped, she said.
The video chat through Skype reassures the girls, too, Chelsea said.
His first two 7-month stints were with the Marines to Iraq. This latest was a year with the 1st 133rd Army National Guard to Afghanistan.
His homecoming was marked by a parade through the main streets lined with flags and yellow ribbons on the lampposts, and accompanied by the Patriot Guard Riders, a fire truck and police.
“It was very unexpected,” Joe said. “I was thinking she’d throw up some signs and the usual family, friends and whatnot would be there, definitely not fire trucks and Patriot Guard and half the town.”
“I knew he was surprised, because he looked a little blown away,” Chelsea said. “I told him that he was only getting what he deserved.”
By 5 o’clock, the crowd in front of the house had disappeared.
The two older girls, BayLeigh and Emery, 6 and 5, sprawled exhausted on the couch. Ollie, 1, was soaked from playing in the cooler to escape the heat, and Charley seemed perfectly happy in her bouncy chair.
Joe, Chelsea said, is ready to “shower, relax, tuck the kids in at night again, slide right back into the swing of things, not in a hurry to get back to work.”
