Saying Goodbye

2nd tour.

Yesterday the National Guard 833^rd Engineer Unit from Ottumwa, Iowa left for Afghanistan.  A mirage of emotions was flooding my heart as I watched the families say goodbye to their loved ones.  One of the hardest things to watch was children who had said goodbye not once but twice already, here again saying it for the third  time.  I remember on the first deployment watching a little boy struggle to stay strong and not cry as his dad hugged him and got on the bus.   A few years later, I looked for the same little boy when the second deployment came as a surprise to the unit, and again he stood tall, never crying, shook his daddy’s hand and watched him get on the bus.  This time, that little boy is now 16 years old, and could no longer stand nearly as tall and brave, and broke down holding his father tightly.  I am proud of everyman an women in this unit, I am even more proud of the tremendous sacrifice the families who wait at home are having to make once again, for the third time.   Prayers are sent to them each and every day.  Please remember if you know someone whose loved one is deployed even the smallest acknowledgment to that family means alot!!  

Stella Rose's Momma