Tilt-a-Whirl (it's time for a spin!)

A single phone call. That's all it takes to send your world spinning.

It could have been like any other phone call I've gotten from my husband. But no. This one would be different.
Crackle, crackle. "Hey sweetheart, can you hear me?" Yes, I can hear you. Crackle, crackle, crackle. "Babe, are you there?" Crackle, crackle. For heaven's sakes, I'm here! "It seems there's been a change of plans..." What do you mean? CRACKLE CRACKLE STATIC STATIC "--sending me home early for medical reasons."  crackle crackle. silence. The call's been dropped.

A dropped call isn't uncharted territory for us at this point. Happens once or twice on a good day. But his mention of "medical reasons" gives me a bit of pause. He's had some other, non-severe issues that I wouldn't think would merit getting sent home early. But I can't (and don't want to) think about anything else that could fit that description.

My phone rings again. Hey. "Can you hear me?" crackle crackle. Yes, hun I can hear you. What's going on? crackle crackle. "--been shot--" crackle crackle. What? What happened?! Are you okay? crackle crackle  "Just a graze--"crackle crackle. silence. Yet again.

Now I'm worried. Did he just say he got shot?! Or was that my overactive imagination? What happens now? What do I do? What happens to him? Should I call somebody?

Before I have time to think of any more panicky questions, my phone rings one more time, like I hoped it would. Only this time the line is clear. And it isn't him calling me. It's his platoon leader, making I understand what's going on. Yes, Zach was shot, grazed really. He's fine, "in good spirits" was the phrase his platoon leader used. Asked how I was doing and if I was okay (handling the shock of everything). I assured him that while shaken, I will be all right. He updated me on the situation and where they would send my husband next. While he was sent out early for medical attention, he may not be home any sooner.

You can bet I did some crying last night. It hit me that my husband had been in danger. Oh, I know he had been in danger before, on missions and things. I usually avoided thinking too hard about it. It isn't as much of a reality though unless that danger actually harms them. And on his way home, too! You never know when things like that will happen. I suppose my tears were more out of relief though. Relief that it wasn't a different phone call I received. The one that no wife would ever want to answer, although they still do. I'm so grateful that while he may be coming home injured, he's still coming home alive. When we found out in 2010 that he was going to be deployed,  I was terrified that he was going to get killed. It doesn't happen as often, but it still happens. And we've had some pretty close calls.

I'm so thankful that my husband is alive. I honestly don't know what I would do without him. I won't have to do without him for much longer though. And we are definitely going to appreciate the time we have together. Some aren't as thankful until they've gone without. It just looks like I'll have to pull a Florence Nightingale once he gets home. Practice for the future.