before I tell you why the grays I would like to say thank you so very much to all who have included my Son into their prayers. Your children as well as all our military are in mine.
Let me tell you I love hearing from my Son and he calls me often. That in itself lets me know he is okay (physically that is). Sometimes I wonder how he is on a mental note, however; He is obviously dealing with any issues he may have. There's nothing worse than getting a phone call from your dtr in law: Hey I just spoke with your son, got time to talk, it's important. Or a phone call from your child saying Hi Mom listen I'm OK but I don't want you to freak out when you hear the news (which obviously tells me something newsworthy has happened and he was involved)... Let me tell you the only thing that helps is knowing Lenny contacted us himself. It is so scary of course He doesn't know this. I'll never let him know. Thank goodness for a forum where I can express this to people who can relate to these feelings. Between the roadside bombs, snipers, and the loss of soldiers (I don't want to elaborate too much on these in fear of giving too much info.) I will be so thankful when he returns home. I think this deployment has been tougher on me in some ways more than the last. I still have moments of tears and lots of worries but always smiles when he phones. We got the frg emails telling us the cut off date for mailings to our soldiers (which has already passed) I can now feel a sigh of relief because I hope this means he'll be home soon. You know the military; they're quite vague on dates (understandably so). I'm tellin you I can't wait until he and his unit return. I can't wait until all return. well as I said before thank goodness for this site It gives me a place to vent my feelings and take a load off of my shoulders so I can get on with my day. thank you to all.

When the boots finally land on home soil it is such a relief. I actually slept 12 hours straight just because I was so relaxed to know he was home. Not home/home, but safe. Sharing our thoughts and fears on these boards is therapy for me. Not everyone understands what we feel as parents. Hearing from the spouses of deployed troops has been good for me as well. I'm not looking forward to another deployment I can tell you that. The joy you feel when you finally hug them is priceless!

Well I for one can relate to how your all feeling about our men coming home, I have a son In the sandbox as well. I don't know what it's like to see them come home after a deployment, when they all come home together. I have 2 sons serving our Country, 1 was wounded this past March, He is back in the states now the other as I mentioned before is still in Iraq. I pray he gets home soon, but I know we have a few months left. Keep praying ladies and gents our men need all the prayers they can get, and we need to support one another. God Bless..

The prayers for all our troops need to continue. Getting people to focus on our troops and the sacrifices being made by them and the families they leave behind. It's true that the olympics and the Pres. election are hot topics right now. But if we really put things in perspective, our troops out there in the sand would be our top priority. Making sure they get what they need, top of the line gear, support from home and all our prayers. For myself when the USA gold medalists stood for the national anthem all I could see was a tired soldier in desert cammo. God bless them all and keep them safe.

Patricia

My heart goes out to you as a mom, I am sure it is very difficult having a son in harm's way. I am going crazy just having a injured one in basic training and that is nothing compared to the stress of having one deployed.
Please know that there are droves of Americans that pray for your son every day and all those serving with him. We do not know their names but we care very much, we are very very proud and we hold each one of them in high regard.
I will pray for your son specificaly and for you, please know that you and yours are not alone. I pray his return is swift and that he returns in good health and good spirits.
Please thank him for his service.