Military Homecomings can be quite exciting and challenging at the same time. First of all you are excited for the family who is soon to be reunited with their loved one, who has been deployed for several months. The challenging past is nailing down when the homecoming will actually take place, because they never happen smoothly. And this latest homecoming was no different.
I lost count of how many times the arrival time changed. And to make matters worse, we were experiencing a heat wave. Temperatures were in the low 100’s this past Sunday in 29 Palms aboard the marine Base. Families were doing the best they could to keep cool during the 4 hour delay. I first meet up with the Joiner Family at the Spray Park on base. The children were happily running through the water playing while Mom kept checking her cell phone for any updates on her husbands arrival time. I was tempted to run through the water myself as I followed the kids around the park.
Homecomings are such an amazing time in these families lives. And whenever I’m honored with the opportunity to capture Military Homecomings, I go through a roller coaster of emotions (anxious, excited, and nervous) all at the same time. I can be a pretty emotional person, and as I photograph the joy and happiness that families go through before during and after Military Homecomings, I feel like I might lose control of my emotions and miss a critical moment. Fortunately I was able to keep my emotions in check. Barely though. 
But it was all worth it in the end. To see their eyes light up the moment they saw “Daddy” and the love between husband and wife as they embraced one another for the first time.