I was really excited when I was chosen to be apart of the sendCheer program with Collective Bias. I was a military kid & know first hand what that means. But I decided that the best person to share some stories about being a military family would be my Mom. 

Hi Mom!

Military just the word fills me with pride. My elementary school boyfriend who has become my husband of 26 years served in the United States Navy for 10 years. While in the Navy he served aboard the USS J.F. Kennedy aircraft carrier during Desert Storm/ Desert Shield. That was our first and longest deployment, 8.5 months. With family being 4hrs. away, I was alone with 2 little girls for 8 months and missing my husband more then ever. During his deployment I gave birth to our first son. I did my very best to keep that 9 pound baby boy inside so that my husband could be there with me.

When a military wife gives birth during a deployment, the perks are huge. The husbands who have new babies are the first to exit the ship and with over 5,000 men on board this was, like hitting the lottery. As the boat pulls in the crowd is screaming and the butterflies are fluttering, I have to admit even the tears are flowing. It’s so surreal, the months and months of hardship, struggles and even the moments of anger have all vanished as the boat pulls into the slip. This homecoming was special for not just us but the entire country. News crew from every major network was there that day. The “new baby tent” was not full maybe 35-40 women and babies. The reporters were mingling among the crowds, smiling and asking questions. I sat in a corner and nursed my almost 9 month old baby boy, whispering in his ear that the man whose voice he had heard every night since the day he was born was finally going to get to hold him and to see for himself just how amazing his first son and namesake really was. A reporter from our local TV station and one from the CNN both approached me after discovering that my son as the oldest baby there, born at the beginning of the deployment. They had many questions even asking my little girls their opinion on the situation and the impending home coming. Before long the sound of the horn bellowed signaling the boat was ready to unload its precious cargo, my husband and children’s father.

Being a young military wife and mother, has so deepened my compassion for military wives. After my husbands return I became very involved with military community. Not with the established family with the incredible support system but with the young girl/ woman that is trying to find their footing. The young mom who needs to find a babysitter as she goes to doctors appointments and just to the commissary. This was very important to me and my family because I know the difficulty along with the relief when some one stepped into to help me while my husband was away.

I am very excited to hear that Cheerios is working with the USO in an initiative called sendCheer. In your locale grocery store you can find special marked Cheerio boxes with a pre-addressed post card that you can use to send to a military family. Military families spend a lot time apart & speaking from experience it was always nice to hear encouraging words from people. 

This post has been compensated as part of a sponsored charitable opportunity for Collective Bias. But all opinions & stories are my own. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 10th, 2011 at 6:36 pm and is filed under My Family, sponsored post, True story narratives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.