No matter how old I get, being away from home for any holiday makes me a little homesick. My children’s birthdays are no different.
Although we are lucky enough to have some family members who are able to travel to us for some occasions, not having the big extended family birthday parties I grew up with pulls at my heart strings a little bit. I do not want to have my sweet kiddos miss out on anything because of the path we chose to live.
And that is this always changing, hurry up and wait military life. Being so far away from family, happy celebrations are always a little bitter sweet and tend to feel like something is missing.
This year we planned a very last minute “Big Boy” Bowling party for our son. My husband was waiting on TAD orders around the big birthday (of course!) and I couldn’t get a range of dates from him to actually plan the party ahead of time. So with one week notice, we decided to plan a slightly over the top party at our local bowling alley.
With a pending work trip, the possibility of the solo parent gig and family in town, having a get-together outside of my home seemed ideal. Show up, have fun and leave.
Easy right?
Hosting 13 kids all under age 5 was slightly chaotic, I will admit. But as we gathered to sing Happy Birthday to my son I realized how many wonderful people came out to celebrate his big day with us and just how blessed we are to have this support network.
The smile on my son's face as he watched his friend’s sing to him was priceless. It made all of the chaos of the day and last minute prep worth it. My friends chose to spend their day of precious family time with us, celebrating my lovable little man.
One friend had just returned home from a deployment and the family was still transitioning to being a family again. Another family was awaiting the very close homecoming of her Marine from Afghanistan. One friend was rocking the solo parent thing with her four kiddos. Not to mention the multiple new babies in the group.
And it was after church on a Sunday during football. Huge deal! I was so humbled and grateful at that moment that so many people would spend their time with us.
My kiddos may miss their extended family but they will never lack in love and support in their lives. No matter where we go in this crazy military world of ours, we will never be alone. There will always be someone who understands what it is like to throw a birthday party without your family nearby. To have your husband away on your anniversary year after year. To deliver your child away from family. To go through deployments back to back. To move every two years. To sit in the ER with a sick child by yourself. There is always another military family who understands.
Although there were some very important family missing from our celebration today, we found joy. We are surrounded by people who have become our family and I feel so grateful for that.
Once again, our Marine Corps family steps in whenever we need it.
