When Life Gets in the Way

I maneuvered through all my email addresses and social media sites today and chuckled at the number of friends who are "thrown off their square" when their team doesn't win or their favorite NASCAR driver is "behind on the turn". It's not that I don't enjoy a great game or other type of event but, the fervor and height of anger I see with all the %#@'s in these posts I have to step back and pause for thought. Life just 'gets in the way' sometimes doesn't it? We postpone an evening out because the baby gets a fever...we don't get home until late because the interstate was a parking lot...couldn't make the kids soccer game because of a deadline at work. All just part of life but all a part of our lives that can change a smile to a frown in a New York minute.

Sat. nite I attended a benefit for a soldier who lost his life when an IED exploded near his vehicle in Afghanistan in July 2010. Watching the calm reserve of the wife, the young son and the parents of this US Army 1st Sgt. it brought my day and my petty annoyances of when "life gets in the way" to a more life altering perspective. I'd forgotten how I felt when I returned home in 199o to a note on the kitchen table that said "If you are reading this I'm already gone. I don't know when I'll be back...give the girls a hug...I love you...Bryan. PS Get my car from the Corps parking lot." 9 mos later my husband returned from Desert Storm. He returned safe and our lives just pickup up and we carried on. Not so for the family I met Sat. night. Their world may carry on but things will never be the same because for their service member "life got in the way".

As we watch our football games and attend our NASCAR races sure, it's more than alright to be upset if our team or driver doesn't win but, let's talk more about the things that truly make a difference for our friends and family when "life TRULY gets in the way". When you see a service member or know of a family who has someone serving in the military, please say thanks. When service members deploy and crisis strikes at home whether it's financial, physical or emotional, the impact on the family can be devastating. Not only has 'life gotten in the way" but the families at home are enduring the crisis "one member down" and that's when Operation Homefront steps in.

Life got in the way for a Navy family who's pay decreased $572 this mid-month pay between a COLA change and the deployed member expenses kicked in after sea duty. Their bills didn't decrease along with their pay and food on the table was going to be a problem. Life also got in the way for a wounded warrior whose VA disability hadn't been determined or awarded yet and the family is living on less than $1200 a month while on the Temporary Disablity Retired List.

If you want to know more about how you can help families like these who need support when Life Gets in the Way, contact hamptonroads@operationhomefront.net.