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As a military mom, I'm on several support boards...some do such a good job..and were made for that exact reason...others, supposedly sanctioned by the US Navy, are ran by ad agencies, for recruitment purposes and could care less about the moms that use them. My opinion, I get one.

Being the mom of a young military member is a collage of emotions and feelings, just joy and pride and despair and tears and then that pride again...and over all relief when your arms go around that neck and you smell that boy smell again..now mixed with that new grownup man scent...and know your child is home, safe and sound from someplace filled with monsters who wanted to harm him. In your head..just him. Of course, there are moments of sanity when you realize your son is surrounded by the toughest SOBs around and that the odds of anyone even getting to him are slight...and the odds that this new big mean SOB you raised couldn't handle anyone any way are even slighter...it's a whole new world.

I'll never forget the first Marine vet who told me that my son, a Navy corpsman aka the Doc for Marines, was one of the toughest mofos in the military. Someday I will have to tell that to his first grade teacher, she and I know better...or maybe we don't.

but words can render you just helpless...speechless...and so weak at the knees that you have to sit...a military mom's worse day...these words heard...deployment...sand....afghanistan....iraq...i'll be okay, mom.

cry in the shower.

Comments

DesignTime said…
Well, since my own tough SOB serves right next to yours and talks about him at home like a brother, I feel like I can say this to you: we're in it together. Whether they move forward or make other plans, they will always know each other somehow. I think they are even more special to each other because of our friendship. J mentioned M last night, with regard to the topic of conversational style, said that they feel similarly about a lot of things but it doesn't take many words to figure that out. It's nice to know that they have developed that sort of shorthand.
February 17, 2009 at 9:17 AM
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