Deployments Are Hard, By Gabriella Kesterton

In the lives of military children and families, you will most likely encounter a deployment of one or both of your parents. A deployment is where your parent leaves to go to a foreign country to help out in countries like Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq. It can take months or even a year for your parent to return. My dad has deployed three times in two years! I really felt sad most of the time he was gone in Kuwait so let me tell you about one of his deployments.

It was late October when my dad had left to go to Kuwait. Since my dad is and has been an only father, and since I could not go with him, he had to bring me all the way to Iowa, where my family lived. We were in Rota, Spain at the time; so it was a long flight over to the states! 11 hours of brrrrrrrrrrring on a C-130 was completely annoying and miserable. I had jet lag for a couple days adjusting to the U.S. times.

I was going to live with my aunt and uncle, including my two playful cousins. They were all so helpful in making me feel better about my dad being gone. For instance, after school I would play with them, give them baths, cuddle on the couch, and other stuff. My aunt comforted me when I couldn’t hold in the sadness much longer and my uncle had helped me with school stuff. My grandma and grandpa had helped out, too. My grandpa would sometimes watch the girls and me whenever he could help. Having family there for you is important when your parent is on deployments. A pet being with you helps a lot, too. Trust me! At night, my little dog would cuddle up around my belly and sleep with me all night. He made me feel at home. I made lots of new friends and reunited with old friends from childhood. My dad had been sending gifts and letters, including e-mails and pictures of what was going on in Kuwait. Every day he made an attempt to contact me in some way. I liked that a lot.

Getting into school activities and doing fun stuff can help take your mind off of your parent being gone. I joined basketball and often went to the park, the zoo, swimming, and other fun stuff. You can also write in a diary or journal of your days. Then keep them for memories.

From what I’ve heard, children can sometimes be depressed, hyper, sleepless, and even unbearable at times. It’s usually because your parents are not there and you feel sad, mad, anxious, worried, or nervous. Everyday I felt those same emotions.

Every night I would pray that my dad would be okay, and that tomorrow he would give me a call so I know that he’s all right. Every day I would look forward to his calls, e-mails, letters, and gifts. And almost all the time I thought of him.

There were a few more months left to go and when he came back, we were going to be going to Sicily, Italy. I would have to leave my friends and family, but I would be happy to be with my dad.

When the time nears and your mom/dad comes home, you feel so relieved and anxious. Mostly, you feel joyful. Sure enough, my dad came home after fourteen months in Kuwait and I was happier than you could ever imagine! I’m glad to have him home, and I’m glad that I had family and friends there when he wasn’t. A few weeks later, we packed our bags and said good-bye to everyone. I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends with me.

I still keep in touch with family and friends through e-mail and phone calls. Life is different without your family with you, and I sure do miss them. I think it has changed my life by how much closer I am to family and friends. I said that I would be back for 10th grade when my dad retires, so I look forward to seeing friends and family again.

Deployments are hard but you get through them. Just remember that when your parents are gone, they’re still there only far away.

I hope this story has helped everyone in some way with deployments. God bless America and all of the troops out there fighting for freedom.