Women at War: Standing Tall with Tears in My Eyes

The mutated stick figures on the paper were cheerful. They held hands and stood among flowers. For a brief moment I smiled, then a tear ran down my cheek -- I missed my kids.

Deploying has never been easy, especially as a single mom of 6-year-old twin boys, but this time seemed to be the most difficult yet.

I sat in my 10x10 room in the middle of the desert and wondered what they were doing at that moment.

Their soccer game was today. [snip]

remember the day I left.

Damon told me before I got on the plane, “Mommy, don’t get dead.” In his dramatic tone Kaden told me, “If the bad guys chase you, run faster! OK?”

In their innocence, they see me as a G.I. Joe, going off to battle to protect the babies and the puppies.

They don’t understand the cruel reality of our world.

We are engaged in a war on terror that affects the safety and security of every American, including my little angels. We face dangerous enemies who want to harm our people and destroy our way of life.

All of this whirled around in my mind, and I wondered why I hadn’t put up a fight when the deployment orders were dropped on my desk. I could have tried to get out of it -- gotten a waiver, kicked and screamed, but I didn’t.

How could I?

The love I have for them and the desire I have for their safe and happy future is precisely the reason I wear the uniform, and I know I am not alone.

Commentary - Standing tall with teary eyes