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!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
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!
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!
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| Graduation night! |
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| Oovooing my brother at a bonfire with friends! |
Thursday, November 8, 2012
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!
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!
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