When a friends fiance in the Army, who is posted in Iraq asked her, "Does anyone know we're still out here? Does anyone care?" This got me thinking, what could I do, so that deployed men and women never have a need to ask this question.
My family has been sending letters and care packages to soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Qatar to a USO base for almost a year. As a result I have made several new friends. My boys have started a "Warrior Wall" which consists of two birthday banners (one for each boy) made with love by the troops at the USO in Qatar along with pictures of several soldiers we have supported. My boys, fascinated by all things military like, have grown leaps and bounds thinking of others instead of themselves. When we go shopping instead of hearing, "Mom, would you please buy me this?" I hear, "Mom, can we please buy this for the soldiers?"
The excitement of receiving an email or letter from a soldier can only be matched by the excitement of waking up on Christmas morning. A feeling I am told the troops share when they receive mail from us as well. Wanting to keep the Christmas spirt of giving going year round I decided to gather as many letters, poems, and artwork as possible to send to as many different soldiers as possible. Knowing my two sons and I could not possibly do it alone, I asked teachers for help.
The initial response has been more than I ever expected. It makes me proud that there are so many teachers, students, and community members that want to help make sure our troops know we care. The enormous amount of interest I have received has promoted me to start this blog. I plan on using this site to send many thanks to those who are helping me reach as many soldiers as we can. I hope to post notes from soldiers who have received mail from us, so they may share what it means to them. I would also love to hear from the students, parents, and teachers who would like to share any thoughts or comments.
A million thanks to everyone who participates in Words for Warriors.
No comments:
Post a Comment