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Free Call Home from Iraq & Afghanistan

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Military News, Military Parents, Parents News, This & That · 3 Comments

Thanks to SpouseBUZZ for alerting to this. Let your servicemember know.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/army_freecalls_072908w/

National Guard Parents – a different experience

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Military Parents · 3 Comments

In the community of MilParents (Parents of Serving Military) there is a “sub community” – the parents of activated National Guard soldiers. Many of the parents I met when my husband was National Guard were totally lost, and didn’t understand what had happened to them and their families.

Yes, they were proud of their soldier. Very proud of them, but for them the Army (National Guard version) was the one weekend a month that they couldn’t plan something with the family. It was the 2 weeks of “summer camp” or training somewhere else in the state or even somewhere else in the country, or when called up for a natural disaster, or when the Governor needed them for something else. True, they had mobilized once before, for a tour in the Bosnia area, but that was a lot of police type duty, and remembering what one young soldier told me, boring – but a way to get to the other side of the Atlantic and do some traveling on their R&R.

The Iraq deployment was something different. They were gone for so long. First in Mississippi and that was difficult, but there were phone calls nightly, they even came home for Christmas leave.. so while we were all worried, it was for “later” . Later came after a rain soaked farewell parade – the tears, the hugs and the “be careful”s. Later came when the phone stopped ringing when they were flying, when they got to the staging area. Later came when mailing packages, and for some putting the blue star in the window. Later came when the rest of the State seemed to forget they were there, and the sympathy dried up… until the first funeral.

These parents told me, over and over, that this was just what the kid did to get to college – or when he was drifting and didn’t seem to have a focus – what she wanted to do for her country, herself, her family – how he got the training for a good job. They hadn’t come to that realization of what it really meant to “Be Army” yet, not like the parents whose child joined the full time service, and in this day and age, we all know what that means.

It’s a realization more and more NG parents are having to face. Are you? Tell us about it. This is a place for Parents of Active Military, for information, for a shoulder when you need it. We understand.

LAW

Tags: National Guard Parents

Owning up to Fear

July 24, 2008 · Filed Under Military Parents · Comment

cross posted from Spouse Buzz

July 21, 2008|SemperFi Wife

Fear is the dark place we go when we contemplate the worst. Fear is Alice in Wonderland’s rabbit hole. Milspouses and milparents tumble down that hole more often than they will admit when there’s a combat deployment involved.

In my life, I have feared many things.

I will honestly crawl up on a table if there’s a spider on the floor. I am terrified of spiders. They have too many legs and they’re just creepy. I can’t step on them but I can kill them with hairspray, cleaning solution, heavy books, etc.

I fear public speaking. Nothing really helps me deal with that. I have tried to visualize the audience in their underwear. It doesn’t work. I am only more nauseated by doing so (no offense). I almost flunked freshman English because I had to give 5 speeches in one semester. I thought that was brutal.

Now, with a loved one on deployment, I have, again, real reasons to fear things.

I live at the end of a cul de sac. Whenever I am coming home from running errands, I check before turning off the main road to see if there’s an unfamiliar car waiting for me. Would I keep driving if I saw one? I don’t know.

Whenever the doorbell rings, I check to see who it is before I answer the door. Would I not answer the door if someone in uniform was standing there? In my silly little world, if I don’t open the door, the worst has not happened. I admit that that’s ridiculous. Would I really not open the door? I don’t know.

There are various scenarios that play out in my head in the early morning hours. All of them have happened to other people so they are “fairly” realistic. I don’t know what it is about 3:30 am but I have some serious conversations with myself at that time almost every morning. It’s prime time for the rabbit hole.

Fearing the loss of my son as a KIA or as a hostage run about equal for me. Thinking about the possibility of either one will grab me in the pit of my stomach and take me on a rollercoaster ride. What would I do? How would I react? Am I strong enough to deal with it? It doesn’t seem like I really would have a choice in the matter but fear and worry don’t take that into account. Remember, we’re talking about the rabbit hole.

As milfamilies, we deal with the rabbit hole. We know there’s an end to it. One way or another, be it through homecoming or something terrible, there is an end to it. It’s the dark part of deployment.

I prefer Alice’s rabbit hole.

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Coupons!

July 21, 2008 · Filed Under Care Packages, Parents News · 3 Comments

I know – we promised a series on Advanced Training – but it’s simply not as good as we want it yet. So – a few little posts this week – let me know what you want!

Now – coupons!! Whilst sitting and cutting out the few coupons that I use, I thought about how many I throw away every Sunday. I remembered a few articles and some TV spots about senior citizens cutting out coupons to send to military bases overseas. So I checked. And they even take expired coupons (up to 2 months old). I am putting links to the lists of bases that do accept these. If you have a soldier overseas, who would be willing to be a contact point and is willing to have their address listed here, let us know!

We are trying to get the forums up and moving – again, let us know what forums you want! This is where parents can get together and discuss what is important to them. I am getting some instruction in how to do this, from our Tech Mama and all around good girl, Tammy (I like Tech Mama for her handle, what do you think??)

Here’s the list – so start clipping, get your office to get clipping! A few cents here and there, helps an awful lot, especially with the cost of living in Europe or the Far East. note: no addresses in the Sand – please!

LAW

http://www.ocpnet.org/

http://www.grocerysavingtips.com/expiredgrocerycoupons.htm

http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/grocery-articles/2575-expired-coupons-give-grocery-coupons-new-life.html

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