Moms – I ran across this song on Facebook last month, checked out the group’s website and found out they were coming to my area. The concert was last Friday and it was wonderful!! Cherryholmes is the last name of this Christian, homeschooling family who sold their house and took the family on the road a few years back. They have been Grammy nominated the past three years and have played the Grand Ole Opry 78 times. Dad Jere is a veteran, and the second half of their show was dedicated to the military. Aside from this pretty ballad, they have many more energetic bluegrass tunes too. Check out their song called “Sumatra.” Lots of talent. Enjoy! Have tissues handy!

About once a week, someone says to me, “I don’t know how you cope.”
Well, frankly, neither do I. I don’t have a choice! But looking out for Number One certainly helps. I don’t want my son to return home to a Mom who has Let Herself Go.

Evenings are the tough time of day for me, when I tend to get weepy. Taking my vitamins and preemptively going to bed are the cure. Looking at son’s picture on my bedside table, spending some time with my Bible and praying for the safety of he and his buddies help put my mind at rest for the night. Magnesium supplements, tea, and Bach Rescue Remedy assist on sleepless nights. I also treated myself to a tiny booklight, so I can read a mindless escape novel without disturbing the rest of the family.

Our household is noisy and busy with other children, but I’ve taken up a habit of an early pre-dawn walk most days. I look at the sky and the moon, and think of my son who might be ready to go to work during the Afghan night. I beg and plead with God. Looking at the sky gives me some perspective and gets me out of my own head. Other days I listen to listen to “pump up” music on my ipod. My son likes the songs “Calling You” by Blue October and Chris Brown’s “Forever,” so they always make me smile.

Stress eating can be a problem, so I make efforts to be mindful. Keeping junkfood out of the house makes a difference. Browsing cookbooks and recipes inspire me to make meals healthy and colorful. This week I am on a binge – collard greens stir-fried with olive oil and garlic. Greens are a mood booster, and taste especially good on bleak cold days. And thank goodness citrus season is here. Love those clementines.

When funds allow, visiting the chiropractor and scheduling a massage are other ways I like to be a bit selfish. One tidbit of bad news can send me into a spiral that affects me physically. My neck can go from feeling fine to knotted up in a couple hours. Getting out for a yoga class is difficult in this rural area and with a nursing baby. Instead, a friend and I have been meeting twice a week to unroll mats on my wood floor and stretch to an audio cd. This fall, we’ve been using “Hip Tranquil Chick” by Kimberly Wilson. Uplifting music and 10 sun salutations will work out the kinks as well.

And of course it never fails that the day I schlep to the grocery store in sweatpants, I see everyone I know. Getting clean and pretty every morning is a must, even more so on the days that I’d just like to stay in bed. The days little routines help us *feel* like we have some control, even when life experience tells us otherwise.

Surely you Army Moms have more tips to share. How do you take care of yourself? What works for you?

A year ago this month, my oldest son, age 18, was safely tucked away at college, enjoying a full scholarship and a short one hour drive home. Perhaps I should say, *I* was enjoying those things. He wasn’t. As the semester progressed and he never talked about school, I had this nagging feeling…my Mommy Antennae were twitching.

Sure enough, just before Thanksgiving we had a 2am phone call. Groggy, I heard my son announce, “Guess what, Mom?! I’m going to be an Airborne Ranger!” The enlistment process had been completed weeks before. It was a done deal. This was followed by a restless night of husband and I pacing the living room floor in our bathrobes, drinking tea, and crying. After that, there was nothing to do except love and support him.

It was a bittersweet Thanksgiving last year. We had him home till New Year’s and soaked up every moment and he seemed to do the same. I became a regular at the www.goarmyparents.forum where I read and cried with other parents and learned much about Army terminology and what to expect. The final days with him were full of tension and conflict, as we all tried to deal with this new weaning. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And then at last the final rainy night, saying goodbye in the airport hotel lobby. I was five months pregnant with his newest little brother. All the siblings hugged him. The 12-yo brother cried. I’ll never forget the feeling of my arms around his wiry waist and my head on his chest. He was wearing his blue fleece jacket. I fled to the car. Dad stayed inside and watched him walk to his room. What a helpless feeling — like he was being pulled out to sea by the tide of people wearing ACUs.

Son reached is goal and is now serving in Afghanistan. What a year it’s been.