Our daughter’s upcoming deployment is just around the corner. Last month was challenging for me. Our daughter had to go through training and had no time to talk to my husband and I. At first I felt like my daughter was already deployed. I remembered that feeling of loss. It’s so strange how you have this feeling, even though you know they are alive and well. The feeling of  loss is knowing your loved one will not be with you,day to day.

I began to  feel so sad.  Knowing my daughter will miss her children activities, birthdays and holidays. I cried,  I guess I just had to let it out. Then I began to think, this is temporary and my daughter will return. I picked myself up and said, “What am I going to do to make this situation a positive experience for my family?”

I know what to do, focus on what I can do for my family.

My granddaughters and I have begun to talk about when I will be coming to help out. My husband, Alan and I are still working, so I will be planning on staying for lengths of time with my granddaughters in Arizona. Since my daughter  remarried, her husband will now face challenges of being a single parent to my granddaughters. So I will have another person to help support.

One thing I do know, this deployment will be different, but we have each other to get us through it.