Missionary Homecomings

For some reason, today I couldn't help but think of what a terrible job my family did in preparing for Eric to come home from his mission.  We didn't have a big party meet him at the airport, I don't think we had balloons, we didn't even have a lot of people over at the house.  I honestly have no idea why we didn't do any of that.  In addition, we didn't even prepare him a room to live in.  Can you imagine how Eric must have felt?  I would have felt forgotten, not cared for, neglected, unappreciated, and many other things.
Then I realized...  Eric is the first missionary in my family.  Not just my immediate family, but my extended family.  Of course, I've had cousins go on missions, but I mean both of my parents have all sisters, no brothers.  So you see, I don't think they even thought about how to greet a missionary when he came home.  My dad went on a mission, but I'm not sure if his family welcomed him home or not.  In my parents' defense, they went to Panama to spend some time with Eric before he came home, so they weren't really around to plan a party or prepare things for him at home.

So here I am, almost three years after my older brother came home, feeling guilty about not doing more for him.  At least prepare the man a room!  I remember him saying that home didn't feel like home.  How sad is that?  That's why he moved out so fast.  That's why he married so fast.  On a side note, I don't think he made a bad decision in moving out or getting married soon after getting home. I love his wife, Katie.  But, it was sad to miss someone so much, and then never be able to see them because they were already gone again.

So what about Jared?  Will Eric get upset if we have a big welcome party for Jared?  I want Jared to feel like he's home when he comes home.  I want him to feel appreciated and welcome.  But I also want Eric to know that I regret not doing more for him when he came home.