Cheer Was Chore This Christmas
On Christmas, 6-year-old Kenny Leonard wanted to sail to the Persian Gulf in a boat, loaded with gifts for his father and a bomb for Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
After dropping the bomb on Hussein, Kenny said he planned to voyage home with his dad, who shipped out to the Middle East four months ago.
“Well, that’s better,” sighed Barrie Leonard, Kenny’s mother. “Last night, he said he wanted to swim there.”
For the Leonards and others separated from loved ones by the Middle East conflict, this Christmas was subdued as they struggled to celebrate a holiday that usually unites families. Arrington (Lenny) Leonard, a petty officer 2nd class, shipped out to the Persian Gulf aboard the San Diego-based destroyer tender Acadia. His departure was abrupt and plans for his return keep changing, as the U.S. increases its efforts to support Operation Desert Shield.
“Christmas without Lenny is not quite the same, it doesn’t seem the same,” said Barrie Leonard, 30. “But we are trying to make it the best we can.”
Barrie Leonard intended to celebrate two Christmases--one yesterday with her two small sons and one in March when she hopes her husband will return from the Persian Gulf. Then, she figures she will set up the artificial tree once again in its corner in the small living room in Imperial Beach. She and Kenny will decorate it again with their ornaments, including the hand-made ones and ones she got yesterday as presents.
Since the couple decided to postpone Arrington Leonard’s Christmas until spring and strapped by a $300 telephone bill (a result of her husband’s calls from ports), Barrie Leonard sent no gifts. Barrie Leonard planned to send a care package of items he had requested: powdered beverage Gatorade, wheat germ, cookies, and a videotape of his family’s Christmas.
On Christmas eve, with all the childrens’ gifts wrapped, the stockings laid out, the house cleaned, the tree decorated, Barrie Leonard finally sat down to write her husband. The previous
Christmas eve, the couple had stayed up until 2 a.m. as Arrington Leonard, 35, struggled to assemble a new scooter for Kenny. She wrote a brief letter and dissolved into tears.
Darling, 24 Dec. 90 2256 hours
For you it’s Christmas Day as I write, and for me it’s still the magic of Christmas Eve. All is ready for when they wake up . . . I miss you so badly now and wish you were here with us. It just doesn’t feel right for me--not having you near.
It’s been a long long day. Tomorrow is bound to start early.
Merry Christmas my love!
I love you always--Barrie
When Barrie Leonard awoke on Christmas, there was scarcely time to add the big news into her letter: six-month-old Johnathan had cut his first tooth. She tried to videotape the new tooth, but Johnathan kept putting his thumb in his mouth. By the time her husband sees his youngest son again, Johnathan will have teeth and be walking, she mused.
In the ten years of their marriage, Arrington Leonard had deployed before. In fact, he shipped out and missed Christmas two years ago. But this time, his absence is far more poignant as tension continues to build in the Middle East.
Barrie Leonard reassures herself thinking that his ship, a vessel that repairs war ships, would not be deployed in a combat area since it has little ability to defend itself. She tries not to think of the dire possibilities of war. She tries not to think of poison gas being used against American troops, whose numbers reached 280,000 several days ago.
“I don’t like to think about that,” Barrie Leonard said. “Otherwise, I would be depressed all the time, I’d be sad all the time.”
Instead, Barrie Leonard likes to think of her husband’s return. She figures Kenny will spot him the first and run to greet him. Then Arrington Leonard will find her, holding Johnathan in her arms. Reunited on the dock, the family will have one of their “family hugs” where they huddle together while Kenny calls out: “Kiss left, kiss right.”
And on Christmas, she liked to think of her husband, who planned to go ashore for a buffet in Dubai. Arrington Leonard called his wife twice on Christmas morning. He sounded bright and cheery. To his wife, the only sad part was the uncertainty of his return.
This was a very different Christmas. Last year, the couple had planned and shopped together for the children’s gifts. This year, Barrie Leonard shopped with the kids along--staging distractions as she placed key presents into her girlfriend’s shopping cart.
When the kids started tearing into their presents yesterday, Barrie Leonard had to orchestrate the event, pulling out gifts from under the tree--a task she always shared with her husband.
Kenny was immediately smitten by his new collection of GI Joe dolls and their battle station. He kept mispronouncing the name of one doll, named “Capt. Grid-Iron.” Instead, Kenny called the tiny figure “Capt. Grid-Iran.”
Quickly, the GI Joe dolls were gathered to form an invading team headed for the Persian Gulf. Kenny gave instructions to each doll. But he halted when he got to the GI Joe that had “Navy” emblazoned across its chest.
“Don’t you think this one looks just like my dad?” he asked.