A Soldier's Mum

As I was perusing the Mother's Day card stand, it occurred to me that there is a legion of forgotten Mothers, Hallmark is not catering for and who don't get much, if any mention in the the mainstream media. I wondered where are the cards with the heartfelt poems and thank yous for the step-mothers, foster mothers and grandmothers who have stepped into the shoes of motherhood? Where are the witty cards for the mother-in-laws because, after all they must have done something right, otherwise you wouldn't have married their child. And how about mother's of 'fur babies', they love their pets just as passionately as I love my child. And finally where are the cards for the ADF Mums? Yes, I am the Mother of an ADF Boy but I won't be getting a card or a phonecall. Not because he doesn't love me but because he is 'camping' (as I call it) and out of reach of contactability. I have become an ADF Mum who will celebrate Mother's Day on a random day ...

No matter where he is, no matter what he does, no matter how old he is, I will always worry about him. And what do I do first thing I know that he is safely back home? I ring him and yell how come he has energy to Snapchat his brother that he is back home but he can’t press a 2 nd button and send me the same photo , indicating that he is safely at home. Poor boy, I can see his eyes roll back in his head and coming to the realisation that no matter how old he is, how far he has travelled, how big adventure he just had, if I don’t get even a measly Snapchat photo from him indicating his state of wellbeing, I will be seriously agitated. And then I was thinking if technology is a blessing or a curse? A zillion years ago, when I went overseas, the only way to stay in touch with my parents was a phone box on the corner of the street or a postcard in the mail. In hindsight I wonder how my mother managed to keep her sanity. These days I have Facebook, Mes...

Anzac Day - The sound of the bugle at the Dawn Service brought’ tears to my eyes. I imagined my boy standing with his ‘brothers in arms’ in Brisbane. So far away yet so close.   But life goes on and life is for the living. And unfortunately once the day is over the living fade into the background once again. They go back to their every day lives with their difficulties’ and challenges, and we as society don’t give it much thought because we are caught up in our own battles. We don’t give it much thought till we are told that there is a funeral and we stand there with tears in our eyes and guilt in our hearts, because we should have done more, cared more, thought more about the living who are existing in the shadows. It saddens me to read that there are so many ‘modern veterans’ who don’t attend the march or don’t wear their medals. They don’t because they are either quizzed about their right to be or lectured about their right to carry with honour what they earned. Ins...

. People are going away for Easter I am not They are having barbeques I miss out Families have Easter Egg Hunts I will not. Get together and drinks by the beach, Evening chats, background music, Laughter in the breeze. I stay at home, locked away, Out of sight, out of way. My son is far, far away. I Snapchat him a photo of an Easter Egg And drink quietly my blues away. Hop away bunny, Hop away fast. Bring my Boy home So we can have a blast.

A Soldier's Mum: Busy Body = Peaceful Mind : My Army Boy is only in Queensland but he could be across the 7 oceans as far as I am concerned. My thoughts keep wondering back to him. Is...

My Army Boy is only in Queensland but he could be across the 7 oceans as far as I am concerned. My thoughts keep wondering back to him. Is he OK? Is he hungry, cold, happy, fed? A sad song or a sad puppy video on Facebook brings me to tears. Keeping up a happy façade doesn’t always come easy. After asking around, the one resounding advice I gathered w as to: Stay Busy! I took their advice and now I am busier than ever. Apart from the regular life activities such as working, cleaning, cooking, laundry and ferrying remaining children to various events I was able to add some extra activities to keep my mind and body busy. Here are some ideas: ·         Making a Bucket List and sticking it on the fridge is a great start. ·         Learn a new craft (knitting, stitching, crochet, quilting) ·         Grab a camera and take up photography ·    ...

Locked away in my Heart According to my husband who is the Time Tracker in our house, Soldier Son has been away for 435 days. At the same time I came to the conclusion that there is no point in me wallowing in my own misery and deploring the fact that I have nobody to talk to and compare notes but it is time that I did something proactive. So I looked around and discovered that there are no support sites for mothers/fathers/parents. We are the silent minority, surrounded by friends who forever go on about raising their 18+ year old children who are unwilling or unable to move out. We listen patiently to their tale of woes and nodd pretending to understand all the while our sons and daughters are grappling not only with a day job in the ADF but also trying to work out how to get Internet connected, paying the bills, loan and rent without the immediate assistance from their mothers and fathers.  So I have decided to do something ...