10/03/2026
People often talk about how hard it is for military families when someone they love leaves, deploys, or receives orders far from home.
But sometimes I think about our children.
The ones who leave behind everything familiar.
Their family.
Their friends.
Their favorite places.
Their routines.
The people who have known them their whole lives.
And suddenly, they are somewhere new.
New people.
New expectations.
New responsibilities.
New places to learn.
New rules to follow.
And sometimes, a new country on the other side of the world.
As parents, we talk about how much we miss them.
But I imagine there are moments when they miss home too.
They may not always say it.
They are busy building a life, doing their job, learning, growing, serving, and becoming more independent.
But there are probably days when they miss something as simple as sitting at the kitchen table.
Their own bed.
Their favorite meal.
A familiar drive.
The family dog.
Walking into a house where they don’t have to explain who they are because everyone already knows.
And when they are stationed far away, life keeps moving here while they are building an entirely different life somewhere else.
They meet people we may never meet.
They see places we may never see.
They create memories without us there.
And that is exactly what we raised them to do.
To grow.
To be brave.
To become independent.
To build a life of their own.
But I don’t think anyone really prepares a parent for what it feels like when they actually do.
So while we are missing them, waiting for their calls, sending packages, praying for them, and counting down the days until we see them again…
I hope we remember this too:
They had to learn how to leave us.
They had to walk away from everything and everyone they knew and step into a life that was completely unfamiliar.
And somehow, they did it.
That may be one of the things I am most proud of.
Not just that they chose to serve…
But that they had the courage to leave everything familiar behind and become who they were meant to be. ❤️🇺🇸
