Food for thought

A little while ago I received a newsletter from my son's base. In this newsletter I get the updates of the ongoings on base and the deployed units. This last one focused on the ceremony that was held for the 3 fallen soldiers and their families. One of the now Gold Star Mothers wrote a letter specifically talking about how greatful she was of the outpouring of support she received. She did make one comment that I agree with whole heartedly. She expressed that she wished that she had known some of the mothers prior to the death of her son, because at the funeral it was discovered that some of these mothers whose sons were serving with her son only lived about 2 to 3 hours away. It would have been nice to have been in touch with these mothers all along. I agree, too bad the military couldn't have provided a list perhaps more specifically a sign-up sheet that would allow us mothers to join to know the whereabouts of other mothers. A way that we could volunteer to be allowed to be contacted by other mothers nearby. Our sons didn't have to know each other for the moms to form our own bond and support system. Yes, we do have the Blue Star Mothers but that usually only covers our local area. For me, I would have never have known her if it wasn't for the fact her son was KIA. The parents don't live on base and for many if not all, we don't even live in the same state as the duty station of our soldiers. We can't form the bonds that some of the spouses can for no other reason than location. Not to mention we aren't necessarily looked at as "Family" within the military. Most of the services offered are for families which really means, spouses and children of military personnel. This is no criticism, just an observation. I would have liked to have met this mother sooner and would have liked to have met more prior to this deployment.

On a lighter note, for the mothers I did meet, I loved it when we called one another to have messages passed on when our sons/daughters hadn't contacted us yet and another mother had been in contact. I told my son once, never underestimate the powers of a "Mother". Afterall, we do have a type of underground railroad system if given the right tools.

Army Mom Out

Such a remarkable lady! HOOAH!

As I have posted previously, my son's unit took a big hit and lost 3 of its own. Before the deployment, I had the privilege to meet another mother from my son's "brat pack". My husband and I spent 4 days with this family and had a wonderful time. Unfortunately, this family we met with their soldier became a Gold Star Family. I still keep in touch with the mother and am amazed at her strength and service to others. When I talk to her she continues to inquire about my son and the others and send care packages. She talks with the other mothers who lost their son in the same battle and prays for all troops. She's concerned for her son's brothers-in-arms and their well being. I like talking with her, she's such an inspiration and she doesn't make me feel guilty that my son is still alive. She's been very candid about her feelings and the emotions she has gone through and continues to find a way to reach out to other Gold Star Mothers. The interesting thing was that she had the same fears as I did the first time I called her after the news of her son; what do I say, how do I comfort her. What I learned is that they need to hear from us, us Blue Star Moms. They need to know they are not forgotten, and still very much a part of us. The friendships they made while their child was alive are still there. I can only imagine the loneliness one must feel and I hope to never know this kind of pain. As Blue Star Mothers, we can't let these women down. We must still offer ourselves to them just as we did before. Through all of her heartache and pain, she still thinks of others. What a remarkable lady!! I hope to never lose her friendship either and her son will never be forgotten.

Let's face it ladies, we are all in this together. We military moms must stick together to help each other make it through the heartaches, the ups and downs, the deployments, and the boring times. Boring is good. We will always share a unique bond that most people never will. When our "children" enlisted, so did we as military moms.

Army Mom Out

Let the Countdown Begin

How happy I am to write this. The countdown begins!!! Well it is more than 30 days but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, til my son comes back stateside. I'm so thrilled. I miss him soo much, it'll be nice to have him back on US soil. I just pray mentally he'll be ok. He's been through a lot this deployment and has grown in more ways than I can count. I won't be going to the homecoming because of where he'll be and where I'm at, my husband and I can't afford it. Not to mention we'll only get about 72 hours of advance notice which makes that tough too. The ceremony is only about 10 minutes but what he really wanted was a girl waiting for him when he gets back. Feel bad for him, but relationships while you're in the service is a tough one. It's really hard to establish a good relationship when you're not around to help cultivate it.

More to come later.

Army Mom Out

A neat thing happend on my way to a meeting

So I'm on my way to the city, metropolitan city, for a meeting for work. I was getting off the freeway and waiting at the light and this truck goes past me honking his horn, hanging out the driver's side window and then gave me the thumbs up. I smiled and waived back when it clicked, he did this because I have an Army Mom license plate holder in my rear window. It made me smile to know that others out there support us. This was not the first time, actually one other time that I was aware of, a car full of people drove by, honked and also gave me the thumbs up.

Since then, I've received my son's unit license plate holder and I placed that on my car as well. I'm proud of his division, 10th Mountain, stationed out of Ft. Drum, NY.

It reminds me why I started this blog, to remind others that there are real people out there going through deployments and not just the soldiers. To help the other moms not feel so alone. When my son is no longer active duty, I'll still be on here. I think it's important to help as many people as possible with military life. I hope to have a message board soon, but that is still a little ways out, still some matters to work out.

Anyway, Keep the faith, you're not alone and there's more support than you may realize, some are just quieter than others.

Army Mom Out

From Baby to Soldier...