Hutchinson ? Linda McCauley has had enough worry in the past year to last a lifetime. That’s what happens when three of your children are serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq.

McCauley and her husband, Garrett McCauley, are caring for their oldest daughter’s three young children at their Hutchinson home while their mother serves in the military.

As often as possible, McCauley talks with daughter LaDonna Warren and son Garett Todd — known as Todd — but communication with son Byron has been less frequent.

During one of his phone calls, Byron told his mother he wanted to come home for some “restoration.” McCauley had told him she didn’t want him to fly on one of the Black Hawk helicopters that she hears about on the news.

So Byron surprised her. He called his older sister last week and told her he was in Atlanta en route to Dallas, on his way to Kansas.

“Byron said, ‘Can you come pick me up in Wichita in an hour and a half?’ when he called from Dallas,” McCauley said. “I rented a van from Conklin’s, got the children dismissed from school, and we went.”

‘Just like Kansas’

The three siblings haven’t seen one another while they’ve been in Iraq, their mother said. LaDonna and Todd have spoken, but Byron hasn’t been able to talk with either of them.

Todd, an air assault specialist with the 101st Airborne Division, called home Tuesday to talk with his family — especially Byron. He reported that the weather had turned unexpectedly cool.

“Don’t let the movies fool you. It is cold,” Todd said. “Plus, when it’s been 130 degrees for months, then over the span of an hour it drops to 60 degrees, it’s a climate shock.

“It’s actually just like Kansas,” he added. “It’s flat, there aren’t any trees and one minute there’s sun and the next minute it’s raining.”

Byron, an artillery specialist with the Fourth Infantry Division, has especially enjoyed the “real food” on which he has dined since returning to the United States for 15 days of rest and relaxation. His unit’s food supply in Iraq consists of “what you eat when you don’t have any other food,” he said.

In addition to celebrating Thanksgiving, he’ll get to help decorate the house for Christmas and have a joint birthday dinner with his sister Tawanna.

Byron has gone out with friends, watched movies and tried to nap during the day, which is difficult with his nieces and nephew around. They play with their uncle until he slips out of the room, then find him and wake him up if he’s asleep.

He has filled his family in on his leg injury — he sliced open the back of one calf while moving ammunition.

And the family has filled him in on his father’s fight with diabetes, including some time in the hospital, news they kept from Byron while he was overseas.

While being home is nice, he said, he isn’t scared to return to Iraq, where he’ll probably live until March or April.

“To me, it’s not a threat anymore. … Besides, their military isn’t that good anymore. Once you get past the fear of being there, it’s like a job,” he said.

A mother’s pride

Linda McCauley said she had learned to be thankful for the little things in life.

“I am so thankful to everyone for their prayers and support, because that’s the only thing that will bring our children home,” she said. “They no longer belong to Mom and Dad. They’re property of the U.S. Army now. I’m very proud of my children for standing up for what they believe in.”

At the end of every phone call, she repeats the same phrase: “Stay focused.” She worries that if her children become distracted, they’ll be more likely to be injured.

For now, she prays. She’s ready for all three of her children to be home.

The last week has been good for her. For the first time in a long time, she’s been happy, relieved to see her oldest son.

“I’ve smiled so much my cheeks are sore,” she said. “God is good.”