what a great place for the guys to be - they had incredible support from the community!
and they got to tent on the baseball field at Pine Creek High School (on flat, even, grassy ground!)
this is how the firefighters were met at shift change, morning and evening, every day. the residents of Colorado Springs, some who had lost homes, some who didn't know if their homes were standing, some who still had a home to return to, would come out with signs and flags and cheers and hugs and goodies to encourage the firefighters. i am so grateful for each one who turned out to boost the morale of the firefighters!
one of the ladies who had been at many of the parades, gave the guys her facebook contact info, so they could see the pictures she had taken (thank you, K!). on 6.21 i scoured her pictures for a glimpse of my husband. since he had been gone (he left on 6.13), i had only seen one picture of him. i didn't find a single picture of ben on her page, but i left a message on her wall that i was looking for pictures of the Minnesota firefighter with the big black beard. a friend of hers commented back that she had some pictures she was sure i would like to see. i gave her my email.
then, (with help from a news station facebook page) i found a video of some firefighters recieving hand-turned wooden pens from a middle-school class. and for mere seconds, there was my husband. i posted the clip to facebook, along with this:
it's funny. i know that there are a lot of pictures of ben out there somewhere. the shift change parades - every night people were taking pictures. and the last one on thursday night, ben knows he was photographed many times. but i can't find these pictures on any of the public websites. earlier today i had myself convinced that i had found him in a picture . . . it wasn't him. then tonight, maddie and i thought for sure we'd found him, but the beard shape wasn't quite right. nor was the date (2012) . . . i don't mind sharing ben's time and work ethic and firefighting skills with others, but the idea of sharing his face - over and over again - with people i don't know . . . and not getting to see even a few of these pictures . . . it's very strange. i finally tracked down this video after searching most of the day. and there he is. for just a moment. unmistakably his hand, and then his dear, handsome face! if only i could have a still of 1:05!
well, ben's cousin captured the stills for me!
and then, on saturday morning (6.22), i opened my email to this:
and after becoming friends with the lovely sender (L) on facebook, i found these, too:
being able to see ben's face and watch the short news clip did wonders for me and for the kids. they were pretty excited to see some pictures of ben! maddie got teary - the only time i've seen her tear up in 11 days - and held the video very close and said, "oh, i could just kiss dad's face."
me, too, maddie-girl. me, too.