Who We Are

I'm a wife and mother with two grown sons, a teacher, and a member of Soldiers' Angels. He (TB) is a father, a soldier, a man with numerous interests and talents, preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. Our paths crossed when TB was deployed to Iraq. I sent a letter and he responded with an email. As time passed and I discovered that he was not receiving support from an "angel" I adopted him. Over time we formed a bond that grew into the wonderful mother/son relationship it is today. When I take time to think about it, I'm amazed, because we couldn't be more different in almost every way. At the same time, we have common interests and we often see things through the same eyes. This path we've walked together has not always been smooth. Due to our different life experiences there have been rocks, even boulders, a few ruts, and a deep ditch or two. In the long-run every stumbling block served to make our relationship stronger.

I have been told by a few people that I cannot really know what it's like to send a son into harm's way, afterall, I've only known TB for a few years. When I mentioned that to him, his response was that no one questions the love a stepparent has for a stepchild. Our situation is similar. True, I did not give birth to him or raise him, but that does not negate our mother/son bond.