November 23, 2011...I eagerly awaited Chandler's arrival at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. I spent the morning fretting over the perfect outfit to wear and checking to make sure the house was ready for his homecoming.
Chandler's flight was due to arrive at 10:15 in the morning, which worked well for me as I don't believe I slept a wink the night before and I don't believe I could have sanely occupied my time throughout the day had his plane arrived later in the evening. My excitement gradually turned to nervousness as I approached Atlanta. My friend Amy and her man David agreed to meet me at the airport to capture the moment of our reunion on film. We arrived early to scope out the area where I would meet him and once we determined the location, we sat and ate breakfast and I drank the most unnecessary cup of coffee of my life! At this point my nerves were shot and I was so grateful for these two great friends who kept me company during this final, brutal period of waiting. Around 10:00 we made our way to the receiving area. Here, passengers have been funneled through the airport and deposited to their final gateway to freedom...the escalators. Directly in front of the escalators is a booth in which a group of USO members are poised to greet weary soldiers as they make their toward their final destination. It is extremely touching to watch these grateful citizens extend a hand of welcome, love, and support to complete strangers and I confess I was instantly choked up. The combination of nerves and emotions building up within me caused a stillness in my being and I became very quiet. I think Amy was taken aback by my countenance and went into excitement overdrive to make up for my placidity! When the moment finally came and I saw him come off of the escalator I was stunned and forgot what to do! Amy spurred me to go to him and, remembering what my legs were for, I quickly made my way to him -waddled my way is more like it as I had foolishly worn heels for the occasion! I jumped into his arms and the world around me was no more. Yeah, yeah, I know what you are thinking. Gag me with the cheesiness! But, it was what it was and I was complete again. Little did I know that the moment I jumped into his arms photos were being taken. Sure, I was aware that Amy was there capturing the magic; but I was caught completely off guard when a reporter from Reuters approached us for information to use for a caption in a picture she snapped of the two of us. After relaying the information, we gathered Chandler's things and made our way home.
A couple of days later, as we were visiting Chandler's family for Thanksgiving, I decided to Google my name to see if the picture had somehow surfaced on the internet. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I tried Chandler's name. What came up was a montage of pictures in The Telegraph documenting how the U.S. celebrated Thanksgiving. Low and behold, there were SSG Norris and a very happy blonde girl named "Brittany" hugging in the Atlanta airport after a one year separation. As the picture spread, I went from "Brittany" to "Brittany Norton" and then just plain "Norton". We thought this was pretty hilarious and Chandler soon began to affectionately refer to me as "Norton". When we found out we were pregnant and were trying to think of nicknames we could use for the baby so we weren't calling it "it", my friend Natalie suggested we call the baby "Norton" until we knew what we were having and had a name picked out. Well that idea was an instant hit! That is how we came to call the baby "Norton". Again, we will not be naming the baby "Norton" or "Nortena" if it happens to be a girl - but right now, the name fits!
Chandler's flight was due to arrive at 10:15 in the morning, which worked well for me as I don't believe I slept a wink the night before and I don't believe I could have sanely occupied my time throughout the day had his plane arrived later in the evening. My excitement gradually turned to nervousness as I approached Atlanta. My friend Amy and her man David agreed to meet me at the airport to capture the moment of our reunion on film. We arrived early to scope out the area where I would meet him and once we determined the location, we sat and ate breakfast and I drank the most unnecessary cup of coffee of my life! At this point my nerves were shot and I was so grateful for these two great friends who kept me company during this final, brutal period of waiting. Around 10:00 we made our way to the receiving area. Here, passengers have been funneled through the airport and deposited to their final gateway to freedom...the escalators. Directly in front of the escalators is a booth in which a group of USO members are poised to greet weary soldiers as they make their toward their final destination. It is extremely touching to watch these grateful citizens extend a hand of welcome, love, and support to complete strangers and I confess I was instantly choked up. The combination of nerves and emotions building up within me caused a stillness in my being and I became very quiet. I think Amy was taken aback by my countenance and went into excitement overdrive to make up for my placidity! When the moment finally came and I saw him come off of the escalator I was stunned and forgot what to do! Amy spurred me to go to him and, remembering what my legs were for, I quickly made my way to him -waddled my way is more like it as I had foolishly worn heels for the occasion! I jumped into his arms and the world around me was no more. Yeah, yeah, I know what you are thinking. Gag me with the cheesiness! But, it was what it was and I was complete again. Little did I know that the moment I jumped into his arms photos were being taken. Sure, I was aware that Amy was there capturing the magic; but I was caught completely off guard when a reporter from Reuters approached us for information to use for a caption in a picture she snapped of the two of us. After relaying the information, we gathered Chandler's things and made our way home.
A couple of days later, as we were visiting Chandler's family for Thanksgiving, I decided to Google my name to see if the picture had somehow surfaced on the internet. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I tried Chandler's name. What came up was a montage of pictures in The Telegraph documenting how the U.S. celebrated Thanksgiving. Low and behold, there were SSG Norris and a very happy blonde girl named "Brittany" hugging in the Atlanta airport after a one year separation. As the picture spread, I went from "Brittany" to "Brittany Norton" and then just plain "Norton". We thought this was pretty hilarious and Chandler soon began to affectionately refer to me as "Norton". When we found out we were pregnant and were trying to think of nicknames we could use for the baby so we weren't calling it "it", my friend Natalie suggested we call the baby "Norton" until we knew what we were having and had a name picked out. Well that idea was an instant hit! That is how we came to call the baby "Norton". Again, we will not be naming the baby "Norton" or "Nortena" if it happens to be a girl - but right now, the name fits!
Loved the story!
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