Daddy's double delivery, Daddy's double delight

By JOSH NEWTON

TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS July 03, 2008 09:53 am

— When Aaron Wright, Tahlequah soldier in the U.S. Army Third Infantry Division, deployed to Iraq in October 2007, there was one thing he didn’t know.
Two things, actually: His wife, Shauna, was pregnant with twins.
“I found out when I was in Kuwait back in October,” said Aaron. “I had just left [home].”
At first, Aaron and Shauna were told their new bundles of joy would be triplets.
“I didn’t know what to think!” said Aaron.
But as it turns out, the local couple, already parents to 3-year-old Reagan, would receive twins. Now, he sort of laughs about his initial reaction.
“In that aspect,” said Aaron, thinking and smiling, “I guess I was a little bit relieved it was going to be twins.”
Shauna kept in touch with her husband, who had access to an Iraqi phone, during her pregnancy.
“We talked about every day,” said Shauna.
“It’s been hard, especially with [Reagan]. All your doctors appointments you have to go to by yourself.”
Chloe and Sierra were born June 14, 2008, at W.W. Hastings Indian Medical Center – one day before Father’s Day, and one day before their father would return to Tahlequah.
“I was on my way back for this, but I didn’t quite make it,” said Aaron. “But I was trying!”
Now, the family is spending as much time as possible together before Aaron leaves again for Iraq early Friday morning, July 4. He expects to be spending another seven months there before returning to Fort Stewart, Ga., by February 2009.
But is he ready to return to a foreign country for his continued service?
“No, but yes,” said Aaron. “It sucks to be leaving my family, but I’m ready to go back over there with my friends.”
The twins’ great-grandma, Sheila Ratliff, says she and their grandma, Teresa Smith, take turns helping with the kids, and will continue to throw in their full support while Aaron is away.
“It’s hard for his wife and little girl,” said Ratliff. “We’re trying our best, and we’re hanging in there until he gets back.”
Smith said Aaron’s return to Baghdad, Iraq, will be hardest on Reagan.
“The twins don’t know or understand,” she said. “But how do you tell a 3-year-old that Daddy’s only home for two weeks? When he leaves again, it’s hard to understand.”
Smith expects it will be stressful on Shauna to take care of three children while Aaron’s away. Will there be other obstacles to overcome? Possibly, they say – but that’s what family is for.

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