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Mother’s Day Can Suck for Military Moms

Mother’s Day is a holiday to celebrate and pay tribute to Mothers.

Most Mothers receive phone calls, cards, gifts from their children. Some children are able to spend the day with their Mothers. We mothers appreciate it more than words can say just as our mothers and grandmothers certainly enjoyed this day and receiving our thanks and appreciation for their love, nurturing, encouragement, and sacrfices made for us.

However, military moms whose children are deployed to war zones hope for more than a card, a phone call, or email from their child on this special day.  They desperately desire with an intense passion that they will see their child again in this lifetime. They long for that day, that hour, that minute when they can see their child and welcome him home with a big hug.

This also applies to another type of military mom; The mom whose husband and father of their children is deployed and while the spouse is away; they become an instant single Mom.  They have to take on the role of both mother and father.  And they have the same worries, anxieties, and fears coupled with the immense responsibility of parenting children in the absence of their father and staying strong for their kids who miss Daddy.

Whether one is a military mom whose son or daughter is deployed to a combat zone, or a military mom whose spouse is deployed to a combat zone; Mothers Day can be bittersweet and we enter that day with mixed emotions. We are thankful our husband, wife, son, or daughter is alive and we look forward with great anticipation to their return.  But, we cannot escape those fears and anxieties and worries that linger in our minds, no matter how hard we try to shove it aside.

Gale Wall, PFC Rodney Clayton Wall, and Barry Wall after being reunited with their son following the Welcome Home Ceremony on May 2nd
Gale Wall, PFC Rodney Clayton Wall, and Barry Wall after being reunited with their son following the Welcome Home Ceremony on May 2nd
Ken and Eva Parks were patiently waiting for their son Jonathan Parks to arrive back in the United States,.
Ken and Eva Parks were patiently waiting for their son Jonathan Parks to arrive back in the United States,.

We are thrilled with joy and relief everytime we receive an email, a letter, a phone call from them. The sense of relief is overwhelming , as overwhelming as our anxiety was just minutes before we hear from them. Then a few days pass or a week or several weeks pass by and not a word from them. Then our worries, anxieties return and increase.  Our sleep is interrrupted and we dream of our loved ones in harm’s way.

We wake up too early and go to sleep too late. It is such a never ending cycle.

Mother’s Day is no different than any other day for military moms. It does not change the fact our loved ones are still deployed and still facing danger each and every minute. So we sit and wait and hope we will hear from our loved ones on that special holiday. But some of us will not hear from them as they are on a special mission or unable to contact us for any number of reasons.

Deb Turbeville watches as Rusty welcomes his son James back home
Deb Turbeville watches as Rusty welcomes his son James back home

An American flag is presented to a military mom at the funeral for her son
An American flag is presented to a military mom at the funeral for her son
Then there are those military moms who will never receive a phone call, letter, card, gift, or a visit from their son, daughter, or the father or mother of their children. That is because their loved one was killed while serving our country.  Their sorrow and grief on Mother’s Day is immense and overwhelming.

And for those  who grieving this Mother’s Day because their Child is no longer on this Earth or the Father of their Children or the Mother of their children has passed on or their mother has passed on ; remember that grief has no timetable and emotions run high on Holidays.

We must be so aware of Military Moms on Mother’s Day.  We must acknowledge them and offer our support and encouragement to them on this holiday. While we are busy thanking our mothers and spouses tomorrow and spending time with our own children’ Let us not Forget the Military Moms and do all we can to validate their Feelings and to let them know they can count on us for support.

First Lady Michelle and Dr.Jill Biden are advocating for Military Families and Military Moms.  They recommend JoiningForces.Org that details ways we can help military families in our own neighborhood.

Thank You and Happy Mothers Day to All Mothers everywhere.

IMPORTANT: I do not want to Forget the Mothers who are deployed to a war zone serving our country, and are away from their children  on this Mothers Day.

Written by: Wishingwell on the Daily Kos Web Site, and republished with permission.

 

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