Welcome Home!

As my final blog post, I am going to tell you about the most exciting day of this whole military family experience; it is the day my brother came home. Yes, we met him getting off the plane from Afghanistan, but nothing will ever top the day he came home to his friends and family.

The entire day was spent running around, trying to make sure everything was perfect. We decorated the house, knowing we were having people over to surprise him and welcome him home. We also had a motorcycle group escort us to the airport.

When we were finally all prepared, we met the motorcycle drivers, and they drove in front of us to the airport. There were about twenty people, including friends and family, standing at the end of the escalator, waiting for his return. When he finally stepped onto the first step, everyone cheered, and the men that rode the motorcycles, shook his hand as he came down. I saw tears form in his eyes as he saw everyone supporting him.

When we left the airport, a state trooper met us, and we were escorted home in a line of cars. The motorcycles played patriotic music. The entire ecperience was amazing, and it really showed my brother how much he was appreciated and missed.

The rest of the night seemed perfect. We all sat around, talking about the things he had experienced when overseas. Of course he was not allowed to tell us everything, but hearing the stories about the things he did tell us, were very interesting. It felt good to be home as a family for the first time in nine months. Something about him sitting right in front of us almost felt unreal.

I know deployment is hard. It is not easy to worry and wonder if everything is OK over there, but it does get easier. As time passes, things will begin to feel more normal. However, when your soldier comes home, everything finally feels right again.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog. I really enjoyed writing, and I hope you got some good advice out of it!

If you are interested in reading more blogs, I would suggest We Are Family! It can be found at http://funfamilyideas.blogspot.com. I really enjoyed reading through the various family event ideas. It even includes a good recipe! Maybe doing some of these activities will help pass the time until your soldier gets home! I hope you enjoy it!

All's Fair in Love and Driving

I hope everyone is having a great week!

This week I am going to tell you about one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had - driving cross country to meet my brother off the plane from Afghanistan. My mom and I did not have much time to plan, but we were really excited for the drive and for seeing him get off the plane. We decided that on the way down we were going to stop in various places across the country that we have always wanted to see.

First, we decided to take a small detour to Tennessee. We are both huge country music fans, and I always wanted to see St. Jude's Research Hospital. We had such an amazing time there. We were only supposed to stay one night, but we ended up staying for three nights because we were having so much fun. We went country line dancing, went to a country show with a country-styled homemade dinner, took a tour through the Grand Ole Opry, and went on a ghost tour through the streets. We also took a tour through St. Jude's and got to see first-hand the work they are doing there, which was one of the most humbling experiences ever.

The next stop was to South Dakota, which believe me, was a very difficult drive. When we got there, although we were really tired, we pushed through and went to Mount Rushmore. The sight was incredible. I could not believe that people actually carved that out of a mountain. It took my breath away.

Finally, we got to Washington. We checked into the hotel the day he arrived, and we could not wait to get him. The plane did not come in until nine that night, but we were excited to get there. We got to the base airport around 6:30, and we waited for what felt like forever. They played the movie Cars 2, and I remember needing to pace until the flight got there. As we waited, we got to talk to some of the other families and listen to their stories. Some women held babies that their husbands were going to meet for the first time. Some of those stories broke my heart. Finally, around 10 PM, the screen that was playing the movie switched off to the plane landing. The first one off the plane was my brother, and my mom and I screamed and cried when we saw the close up of his face. It was torture not being able to hug him.

About three hours later, a sargeant came out, talking to us in front of a big curtain. From under the curtain, we could see the soldiers' boots. The man seemed to ramble on forever, but finally, the curtain began to rise and everyone ran toward their loved ones. I felt like I was pushing people down left and right, but when I finally got to my brother, all I could do was hug him and cry. My mom was right behind me, hugging the two of us, finally reunited as a family.

St. Jude's in Tennessee

Mount Rushmore in South Dakota

The screen with the plane on it!

Finally reunited!

The sergeant coming to talk to the crowd

Road Trips

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great time with your family over Thanksgiving.

Today, I am going to write about one of the best, most tiring experiences in my life. My brother called home one weekend, telling us that he was going to have a 36 hour leave period while in basic training in Missouri. We live in New Jersey, so when we heard this, we immediately looked up plane tickets to see how much they were. When we looked them up, we realized that it was going to be a lot of money for me , my mom, and my brother's fiance to fly out there on such short notice. That is when we decided that we were going to drive.

Driving out there was one of the most tiring things we have ever done. It was the middle of July, so it was hot and disgusting, and we just wanted to be out of the car. Regardless of being tired, we had a lot of fun. We made the best of it, playing car games and singing along to songs.We did the trip from Jersey to Missouri and back twice, once for the leave and once for his graduation. Seeing all the sights was really enjoyable, and seeing my brother was one the best feelings in the world.

This past summer, when my brother came home from Afghanistan, my mom and I drove cross country to Washington to see him get off the plane. Driving there, we made many stops along the way, making the trip a memorable experience. It was a lot of fun!

The end result of all the road trips made the hours in the car worth it. If you get the chance to see your soldier, I highly recommend driving to wherever they are to see them. It is always worth it in the end!

Holidays

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I hope that everyone reading this are sitting with their families and their soldiers and enjoying the holiday! However, unfortunately, I know this is not the case for everyone. Last year, my brother was in Afghanistan, so I know the holidays can be hard knowing someone you love is not home, where they belong.

One way we learned to cope with it was having Thanksgiving on another day. We celebrated all our holidays when he came home. We had Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas morning, Mother's Day, and basically all the other holidays that we were missing as a family.

Luckily, for us, this year we are in Washington, where my brother is stationed. We are having Thanksgiving dinner as a family. Although the rest of my family is not here, it is worth it to be with the family that is always there.

I hope everyone has an amazing holiday!

Support System

Hello! I hope everyone is doing well!

Have you had a day that you just felt really down because you're missing your soldier? Well, if you have not yet experienced this, than you are lucky. When my brother was away and we went days without talking to him, I just felt down. I felt like there was nothing I did where I was not wondering if he was okay or if he was hurt.

For me, there was only one way to get out of feeling this way - talking to my friends. My friends were the most supportive people in my life when I felt down. I have had the same group of friends for years, and it has always been the six of us. We have been inseparable. When my brother left, we all felt upset because we lost one of our best friends. However, we were there for each other no matter what.

On graduation day, when I truly felt the pain of missing my brother, they were all there for me. They stood in the stands and yelled louder than anyone. They were there for me whenever I needed someone to step in as my brother. No one could ever replace him, and they did not want to, but it still made me feel better that they were all there for me.

Our meeting place would always be around a campfire. Whenever we just needed to have a night all together, we would have a bonfire, and everyone would come. Some times, we would Oovoo with my brother if he was available. Somehow, being together just made us feel better, and we would have each others backs no matter what!

If you do not have a support system that you can count on, I would really suggest you get into one! Deployment is hard, and it is important to be sure you have a group of people you can rely on no matter what and vent to whenever you need someone to cry with!

Graduation night!

Oovooing my brother at a bonfire with friends!

Pride and Anger

Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well after the storm!

Today, I am going talk to you about the thing I struggled most with my brother being away. It was finding the balance between the pride I felt for my brother and the anger I had towards him for leaving. When he left, I was so proud of him. Watching him get onto that airplane in his greens made me feel like the most proud sister in the entire world. Although fear was hidden beneath that pride, I knew that he was doing what was right for him. He was going to do great things overseas, and it was his calling.
However, the pride did not seem so strong on all the important days he missed. On graduation day, I was so angry at him. I did not want anyone to even speak his name. I could not wrap my mind around why he was not there. My brother and I are more like best friends, and we always supported each other in everything. When he did something for school, I was always there to be the loudest person in the crowd cheering for him. He did the same for me, but this time it was going to be different, and I was mad at him for missing it. Deep in my heart, I knew that he would have been there if there was any possible way for him to be, but he was not there, and I did not know how to process or deal with that. My best way of dealing with it was avoiding it. So that is what I did. I tried to act like nothing was wrong, and that everyone I wanted to be there was. That did not last long, though. That night, when everyone came over to celebrate, my mom played a slideshow, beginning with pictures of me and my brother when we were younger. I got so mad at my mom for playing this, and I left the room. My aunt came after me, and I will never forget what she said. She told me I was mad. That sounds simple, but I never admitted to anyone I was mad, and she just said it. Finally, I was able to break through the barrier. I never wanted anyone to know I was mad. What if something happened to him? I would forever be known as the girl who was mad at her brother when he died, but now that someone else told me it was okay to be mad, I was able to express that anger.
Expressing your anger is very important, and it does not mean you are not still proud of your soldier. If you ever get mad or upset about your soldier's decision, seriously consider talking to someone. It was the best feeling to get it off my chest.

Well, I hope you are have a great week!

Time Adjustment

Hello everyone! I hope this week has been a great one for you!

During the time my brother was in Afghanistan, one of the hardest parts was trying to find the time to talk to him. The problem was that when he was able to talk, we were sleeping. The times that we would be able to talk, he would either be working or sleeping. I was in my senior year of high when he was away, and I found it extremely difficult to find the perfect time to talk to him, due to the time difference. The best way we could deal with this confusion was to set up a time, at least once a week, where we could talk. This meant either I would have to stay up really late, or he would have to wake up really early. Either way, we had to make sacrifices in order to communicate during his deployment. Of course, this was worth it. Talking to him assured me of his safety, and I would trade sleep for a conversation again in a heartbeat. Waking up for school the next morning was not always the best feeling, but that's what happens when you're in a military family!

Furthermore, the best idea for you is to check out a world clock to check the time over there. That way, you and soldier will be able to find the perfect time to talk and catch up!

I hope that things are going well. If you're soldier is away right now, remember that some things take time to figure out, but in the end, it is worth it, and it will work out!

Communicate!

Hi everyone! Today, I'm going to tell you about the number one thing you are probably wondering about - communication! The hardest part about your soldier being away is that you do not know where they are all the time or if they are safe. Well, the good news is that with basic writing supplies and technology, you will be able to get over this fear of unknowing.

Basic training was probably the hardest part of my brother being away. It was the first time he was truly away from home where I could not talk to him on an everyday basis. It was really hard, but we did manage to get through it. In my previous post, I talked about the care packages you can send as a form of communication. Cards, pictures, and letters are all really good ways to communicate. During special events, my friends and I would take pictures of everyone and get the pictures developed. Then, we would write on the back of the pictures what was going on that made us take the picture. He said he really enjoyed stuff like that.

Also, during basic, it was very rare that we would be able to talk to him on the phone. He would call once a week for about a half hour. However, every once in a while, they would revoke his call because of something that happened with his unit. These were the worst days. We would sit by the phone all day, just to find out in his next letter that they could not call. However, once you get through basic, communication does get easier.

During the time he was in Afghanistan, communication was much easier, surprisingly. He would not be able to talk on the phone, but we did talk on Facebook and Oovoo or Skype video chat a lot. Video chat, in my opinion, is the best invention ever for military families. I truly do not know how people survived deployments without it. I would suggest that you download it, if you do not already have it. Even though the connection is not always very good, it always feels good to see your soldier safe on the other side of the camera.

Well, that is all for now. Communication is a really important thing to remember to do when your soldier is away. Although it is really hard for you to watch them leave, it's harder for them to leave everyone. Make sure you keep them informed and updated on everything. That way, when they come home, everything will feel normal!

My brother and his girlfriend on an oovoo message together. They would like to fall asleep together on nights when he was away!

My brother, my mom, and I on a Skype video blowing kisses to each other!

How to Make Care Packages

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a great week so far!

This week, I will be sharing with you about how to make a great care package for your soldier. I asked my brother what his favorite things were that we sent him. Below, you will find the list of things that he sent me! I hope it helps!

1. Letters and Pictures! The number one thing he always looked forward to were letters and pictures! When he received a picture from an event, he said it made him feel like he was part of that event, even though he couldn't be there. He said they always made him smile and feel closer to home.

2. Snacks! Soldiers love getting snacks from home. These snacks are more than likely going to be shared with the other soldiers in the unit, so if it is possible, send a lot! Two of my brother's favorite snacks were beef jerky and nuts. He said they were always good snack food for missions.

3. Sunscreen! One thing that soldiers tend to forget they need is sunscreen. Sunscreen can be very useful, especially when soldiers are out on their missions. Temperatures can get very high overseas or in basic training, and your soldier could go days out in the field. It is important to keep their skin safe so they can stay as healthy as possible!

4. Hygiene Products! In basic training, one thing my brother always insisted on us sending him were baby wipes and mouthwash. When a soldier is in the field, they could go days without showering or brushing their teeth. The baby wipes and mouthwash would help him stay clean during these times.

5. Socks! It may sound like a small thing, but my brother loved getting new socks from us. He said they went through socks so quickly on missions that getting a new pack of socks would always make him happy.

6. Phone Cards and Writing Supplies! In basic training, my brother always asked for writing supplies, such as stamps, paper, and envelopes. This is really the only way we would be able to communicate with him, except the one hour a week phone calls. Phone cards are also very important so they can be sure to communicate with their loved ones at home as much as possible.

7. Anything Home-like! One thing my brother always looked forward to was something that would be either homemade or remind him of home. I am from South Jersey, and the beach has always been a big part of our lives. When my brother was away in Afghanistan, my friends and I sat on the beach and wrote him letters. When he wrote us back, he told us he could smell the beach on the letters, and it reminded him of home. From that moment, we wrote letters in very distinct places. In the fall, we wrote them by the bonfires. This would make him feel home, and he loved it.

8. Books and Games! I always thought that when soldiers were away, they were fighting 24 hours, 7 days a week. I realized, however, that I was wrong. They do have downtime that they need to find something to do. My brother always enjoyed when we would send him new books or a deck of cards. The unit would enjoy playing cards together, and my brother enjoyed reading in his alone time at night.

9. Medicine! Although they do have medics in the military that can prescribe medicine to your soldier, you should be sure to send them over-the-counter medicines, such as headache relievers, allergy medicine, and cold medicines that they could use in case they just need a quick remedy.

10. Anything Homemade! Along with anything that would remind him of home, I know my brother enjoyed when we sent him homemade snacks. His girlfriend would play a big part in doing this. She would find egg-less cookie recipes and send them to him all the time. You must be careful though because some cookies won't stay fresh. You should be sure to find recipes for cookies that can last a long time, without going bad. Also, try to stay away from chocolate. With the heat, chocolate will probably melt and make a mess.


I hope that was helpful! Remember, whatever you send your soldier will be searched by the Sargent.

 
The video listed below has some great tips for sending your soldier the perfect care package! 

When It All Began

I remember when war was just a game that my brother and I played in my backyard. I would play the role of the precious territory he had to defend. He would usually hold a toy gun and shoot the imaginary people coming in to attack from all directions. The game was fun, and the rules would be made up as the game progressed. However, about a year and a half ago, my brother changed the meaning of the word. The game we played as kids was about to become his reality. He sat across the table with the papers in his hands that said he was going to join the Army. I knew my brother was not meant for college, but as he spoke these words, I could not help but to think that he would have made an amazing pediatric dentist. Anything was better than him leaving us.
In May 2011, we sat and watched my brother swear into the Army. It was at that moment, I realized how proud I was of him for taking a stand and doing what he believed in. I did not want him to go, but I knew it was his calling. Although I knew I was going to miss him and be scared for him, I was proud to see the boy I looked up to my whole life become the man he wanted to be. If you are reading this as someone who has someone important to you enlisting in the military, remember that this is something they are feeling called to do. Everyone was meant to do something in this world, and even though it seems really tough at the time, things do get easier.