Author Archives: Debbie Nichols

I believe that every single event in life happens in an opportunity to choose love over fear- Oprah Winfrey

“ Being a grandparent is a fun roll, being a parent is responsibility and I learned how to balance it out, even if I cried and laughed at myself during the process.”- excerpt from a book Deployed Grandparents being Parents

This was the scariest time of my life but my love for my granddaughters over came all my fears. My granddaughters were depending on a us and this allowed me to forget the real situation we were in, and just focus on them.

Making the children’s birthday special

We always made our children feel special when it was their birthday. The birthday person would not have to do their daily chores on their birthday. Such as, not having to make their bed, dump trash or do the dishes. The birthday person would also choose what meals they wanted that day. Not what I had planned for dinner.

My children knew that what meals I prepared was what you got. No complaining, you just had to deal with it. So this was a big deal to to be able to select what you wanted. The birthday person really enjoyed selecting what the entire family was going to have for dinner.

When our granddaughters were living with us I followed the same tradition. Since my granddaughters birthdays were during the school year, they really thought that was special. to celebrate their birthday with their classroom I made cupcakes for the entire classroom. They cold hardly wait to take the cupcakes to school, so they could share the special day with their teacher and classmates.

It’s simple things that made my granddaughter’s birthdays special when their mom was deployed.

First Steps of Deployment

The Department of Defense has announced that many of our Military Branches will be deploying starting next month. I remember when we found out that our daughter was to deploy, we had less than 30 days to prepare for our granddaughters to come live with us.

Our daughter was briefed on her deployment and as guardians to our granddaughters I searched for information, but did not find information helpful to our specific family issues. Here are a few tips that helped me-

The first step is to select a room and make it comfortable. Kids need to have pictures of their parents and family in their room.
Be sure you have all the legal and medical documents and any recent health issues.
Prior to enrolling, contact the school and find out if they have uniforms or special dress codes. This will help minimize your stress level and become more prepared.
Allow the child to bring their favorite toys and books with them
Be aware of all medications and any health information, along with immunization records
Calendar can be placed in the kitchen or bedroom to note homework project due dates and letting the child cross of each day, minimizing their anxiety

The USMC family website www.marineparents.com has a large amount of category topics to help support the family. I am searching for Navy, National Guard and Air Force family supporting website. If you know of any please let me know.