11-11-10 vs. 09-23-01

Today is Veterans Day and I am a Veteran.  The only person that acknowledged this today was the girl who sacrificed the most for me to earn that status.  My beautiful Taylor comes home from school and starts talking the usual random babble of a hyperactive child.  She tells me she has something to tell me, so I naturally ask her what's up.  She throws her arms around me and yells very enthusiastically "Happy Veterans Day, Mom!" Then she hands me this little trinket - a small quarter sized picture frame magnet as she tells me she got me something for Veterans Day.  I asked her where she got it and she quickly quips, "At the school store...I realized I had a quarter in my pocket and it was Veterans Day so I got it for you."  Such a small insignificant thing, that turned out to mean so much.  Although my time in the military was extremely painful for her she remembered today that I had sacrificed for her to live in this wonderful country and she appreciated it.  She was proud to call her mom a Veteran.  I'm proud my daughter appreciates my choice to serve my country despite the large amount of things she had to sacrifice in her young life. 

I didn't potty train her...I didn't see her roll over for the first time...I couldn't take her to meet her Grandma and Grandpa until she was over 2 months old...mission first!  Not to mention that she spent twelve hours a day in daycare 5 days a week.  My first deployment was to Germany for 3 months.  She was about 2 at the time and she got to stay with her dad.  I will never forget coming home and wanting nothing more than to take her in my arms and squeeze her.  She wouldn't come to me.  She acted scared of me.  My heart broke. 

Shortly after returning, Taylor's Dad changed duty stations and went to Germany.  I became a single mom for all intents and purposes.  My second deployment came on 9-23-01.  I was called into my First Sergeant's office and told I had 96 hours before we deployed to the East Coast in response to the 9/11 attacks.  In just 69 hours I was waiting to board a plane.  My mother had flown in that afternoon to get Taylor and I anticipated being able to spend the evening with them.  Sadly, I did not.  I did get about 30 minutes in an airplane hanger with my mom and daughter.  Taylor cried when she had to leave.  My heart broke again.  We had been planning her 4th birthday party..her very first party.  I left 3 days before she turned 4.

The mission was supposed to be 90 days, which turned into 7 months.  Taylor had started preschool and a whole new life.  I didn't know if we would deploy again soon, so I opted to leave Taylor with my parents.  A year and a half I missed in my daughters life. More importantly, a year and a half when she questioned the love of her mother and doubted she would come home.  I left the military in November 02 after begging my chain of command to allow me to be a mom.  They did just 2 months before my company deployed to Iraq for a year.  I could have missed out on 3 years of my daughter's life, but God had another plan. 

Now my daughter is celebrating my service.  She truly knows I will never...ever leave her again!