October 18, 2011 ~ Please don’t mistake my disinterest in allowing another child to enter the Corps as a lack of support for our military. Our family will continue to serve and support our military, their families, and our veterans by giving our time and our talents to meet the needs here on the homefront. [...]
Reflections of my Post 9.11 World
November 4, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
September 9, 2011 ~ We all live in a Post 9/11 world where life will never be the same for any of us. We all remember what we were doing ten years ago on that fateful day, at the very moment when we first heard the news of the planes hitting the Twin Towers and [...]
Memorial Day – It’s not just another mattress close-out sale
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May 27, 2011 ~ It’s Friday and the kickoff for Memorial Day Weekend 2011 is in full force. While I was drinking my coffee and clearing the fog from my brain early this morning, I turned on the television and checked in on the news. Within the first twenty minutes I heard all about how [...]
Get to know the new guy
November 4, 2011 by · 1 Comment
August 11, 2011 ~ I’m a casualty of war, but I’ve been far too focused on that fact for the past two and half years. I’ve allowed Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress to steal my oldest son, and steal my joy. For the longest time we have been trudging through the stages of [...]
Literally dying to get some sleep: The accidental death of a US Marine
November 4, 2011 by · 5 Comments
July 8, 2011 ~ Today marks the one year anniversary of the death of LCPL Adam Thomas Puckett. At the time of his death, just 25 years old, Adam had just returned from his second combat deployment with the United States Marine Corps. He was home on leave. For the past year, the lives of [...]
Confessions of a Marine Mom: I’m Enrolled in Retail Therapy
November 4, 2011 by · 1 Comment
June 2, 2011 ~ The first time I walked into a Marine Corps Exchange, I thought I had died and gone to heaven…..Marine Corps Mom’s heaven, that is. I had not laid eyes on my son for months and back in my hometown, there was not a single place of business that sold anything related [...]
When he’s deployed on his birthday
November 4, 2011 by · 3 Comments
May 20, 2011 ~ I’m pretty sure most mothers feel the same way as I do about their children’s birthdays. The date on which they are born will always be ranked right up there with any national holiday if we are asked about its importance. Most children find themselves surrounded by a room full of [...]
Diffusing the IED ~ When the caregiver lives with PTSD
November 4, 2011 by · 1 Comment
May 16, 2011 ~ I’ve heard it described. The moment the soldier looks down and sees the trip wire that is going to set off the IED (Improvised Explosive Device) he freezes. His blood runs cold. His gut has an instant reaction. He breaks out in a cold sweat. Thoughts run through his mind faster [...]
Beauty Will Rise
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May 16, 2011 ~ As the mother of one struggling with PTSD and TBI, the past couple of years has been one of my most difficult to survive. Though my wounded warrior still draws breath, he is no longer the person who left home seven years ago to join the Marine Corps. As I adjust to [...]
Music and Faith from Ft. Living Room
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May 15, 2011 ~ Music is a language that we all understand. There are certain songs that make us clap our hands and stomp our feet. Some songs bring us to tears. Songs bring back memories from the past. Music is used in advertisements, and very effectively I might add. The music in a film [...]
Military Deaths and Questions We Should All Be Asking
November 4, 2011 by · 1 Comment
May 10, 2010 ~ USA Today has released a tool to help us better understand the cause for military deaths during OIF and OEF. (Behind the Numbers – American casualties in Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond). This presentation allows us to take a closer look at the American servicemembers who have died in Afghanistan, Iraq, and in other related [...]
A Few Lessons from Boot Camp for Mom
November 4, 2011 by · 2 Comments
May 9, 2011 ~ He’s really doing this! When my son walked out the door to head for Boot Camp, the first thing that hit me was the fact that he wasn’t simply talking about it anymore. He was doing it. He wanted to say good bye from the house. His recruiter came to the door [...]
Do you have STSD?
November 4, 2011 by · 2 Comments
May 6, 2011 ~ If your loved one is suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), then you are probably experiencing your own psychological trauma. Everyone in the family is profoundly affected by PTSD. In fact, many family members will develop Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder (STSD). Whether you are living with the PTSD survivor or not, [...]
Despite combat, I still know my child best
November 4, 2011 by · 5 Comments
May 4, 2011 ~ When our son returned from his third deployment, we could tell that something wasn’t right. We knew that there had been subtle changes even after the first and second deployments, but we could see a significant change after his return from deployment number three. We weren’t quite sure what was going [...]
Sleeping with My Cell Phone
November 4, 2011 by · 1 Comment
May 3, 2011 ~ I drove two blocks from the house and reached down to pat my left hip, as I have done every time I’ve left my house for the past seven years. I fully expected to feel my cell phone clipped to the waist of my jeans. When I realized that what I [...]
Blindsided by a Panic Attack
November 4, 2011 by · 1 Comment
June 7, 2011 ~ In the midst of a panic attack that blindsided me, I came to wonder if I have PTSD. You ask how this is possible knowing I’ve never been deployed to war. What you don’t know is that I live in the middle of one. This war began almost three years ago [...]
Striving to Live a New Normal
November 4, 2011 by · 3 Comments
May 2, 2011 ~ Post Traumatic Stress – It’s spreading like an epidemic in our society. If it hasn’t affected you yet, it won’t be long. With so many of our combat veterans returning from multiple deployments, it should come as no surprise that there is a high percentage of Post Traumatic Stress, commonly referred [...]
Move over Claudia Joy!
November 4, 2011 by · 1 Comment
April 14, 2011 ~ Yesterday, forty expectant military moms received a “well-deserved” baby shower through the combined efforts of Operation Shower, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Second Lady Jill Biden. Martha Stewart was on hand to teach the art of preserving memories through scrapbooking. Each of the forty moms received donated gifts totaling $1000 for [...]
Pay Congress What We Pay the Troops
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April 8, 2011 ~ While we are all discussing the possible government shutdown and the affected government paychecks, I’d like to point out that freshmen lawmakers earn five times the amount of first year military officers. Lawmakers salaries are ten times the amount paid to first year enlisted service members. Though some lawmakers have pledged to return their paychecks to [...]
