Tag Archives: support

What does it mean to be invited to the White House Community Leaders briefing?

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When I was notified that I had been selected to attend the White House Community Leaders briefing , my first thought was- “My wish is coming true!”

I have been wishing  to share with our government how we can better help our military families experiencing  deployments and returning home for sometime . I faced so many challenges at that time when my daughter was deployed and I knew other families must have faced the same issues, also. 

White House administration for the first time in history has opened up their doors. They have selected  community leaders to share  how they are improving their communities and in hopes of bridging government services to better serve our people.  I was selected because of my work in  educating our military families on deployment and reintegration.  And will be attending this briefing with the White House administration on August 12. It is an all day event.

I was informed by the White House Administration  prior to my visit, to select one of the four  departments to speak to -Small Business, Environment, Health Care /Human Services or Dept. of Education.  I selected the Department of Education.  I think informing the school administration on how to better understand and help the children of military families.  More than half of our military families are living in communities and  do not live on  military base.

I began to think back about the time when our  granddaughters came to  live with us during our daughter’s deployment. And the challenges I faced- changing my entire lifestyle, dealing with concerns for our daughter’s safety, the lack of communication, being a parent again,enrolling children in a new school, trying to find after school care( which I was unsuccessful due to limited space and being mid year), I had no support due to our location, and experienced many mixed emotions or being a parent, again.

Military families need help with many issues they face during deployment. So many of our families are on our own, trying to do the best job they can while their loved one is away.

I thought , wouldn’t it have been nice if I would have known where to get help. Have all the resources at my fingertips when my daughter was deployed? I would have loved to have had an after school care, homework helpers, babysitters -I could afford. Having other deployed children for my granddaughters to connect to, knowing what deployment was like. And maybe, a network of  other families in the same situation.

So now, here is my chance and I can’t wait to speak!

Want to share your story or do you have an idea on how to help other military families you would like to me share with the White House? I would love to hear from you.

Send me your comments.

How military kids are supporting other military children

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This is a very exciting time for my granddaughters,Ivie and Bailey, and myself.  We completed writing  their book- Deployed Kids  and now we have a new website www.deployedkids.com for military children.

After my granddaughter’s, completed their book -Deployed Kids, we talked about how we could further help support military kids. We felt what was needed was a website for military kids to connect with other military kids, like themselves. This enables my granddaughters to share with their peers, how they handle having  parents in the military.  Military kids face many challenges- a military lifestyle, parents deploying and frequent household moves. Children experiencing their parents’ deployment face the  loss of a parent’s personal involvement of their daily routine. Even though these military children’s parents are absent from their children’s daily routine, most children are extremely proud of their parents.

Deployed Kids website will have blog posts of Ivie and Bailey  sharing their thoughts of what they have learned having  their parents in the military. How they cope with their parents past and future deployments. They will include how they presently do not live on a military base, their after school  activities,their plans for summer  and  personal tips of keeping  positive outlook, even when you are dealing with a parent’s deployment. They want other military kids to know how special they are. They too, are serving our Country!

These Kids are the Force  behind our Force.

How do children cope with Deployment ?

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I always wondered what my granddaughters thought of living with us during our daughter’s deployment. Last fall  when I was visiting my granddaughters I asked  them if they ever thought of sharing their experiences about deployment  with other children. They both got very excited thinking about  possibly writing their story and sharing with other children. They thought  it would be “COOL” to write a book like I did. They both shared with me they felt they wanted to  help other military kids not to be frightened and what to expect when a parent deploys. I asked them would they like me to help them write  their story? And they agreed it would be fun.

I suggested that I interview them individually with out the other knowing what their answers would be. Ivie and Bailey both thought this would be fun.  I began interviewing  each one without the other one hearing how they answered. I told them to pretend that I was a reporter not their grandmother and they could be totally honest with their answers. They enjoyed me asking the questions.

Once we completed their interview  we started selecting pictures to place in their book. It was fun looking back and seeing how they have grown since they lived with me. My granddaughters chose to dedicate their book to a special friend who supported them during their stay. Ivie felt she wanted to add helpful tips  to kids and what she thought would help them better understand what deployment was like for her.

When interviewing my granddaughters I was surprised how honest they were and so willing to share their true feelings.

We all enjoyed working together and creating their book . It brought back many memories for all of us,sharing the good and bad times of deployment and our time together.

We have completed the book, Deployed Kids – How we survived our  mom’s deployment to Afghanistan. Ivie and Bailey hope to share their book with other military children facing their parents deployment.  Very soon I will have a link on this site on how to purchase the book.

It’s amazing to me how children can open up and share their experiences with out any hesitation.  Over all, my granddaughters thought their time with us was fun and exciting, even though they missed their mother greatly.