Imagine, you just got married three days ago and today you are watching your new husband get on a bus while you are holding your nine month old child. You know he is going to be gone for a long time and you have no idea how you will manage without him. Now imagine you come home to a waterfall in your house because a pipe broke and shortly after your child's pediatrician tells you they have a high lead level. What do you do? Where do you go? Who can you ask for help?
This was me when my husband had his first overseas deployment to Iraq. I knew nothing about the military and had briefly heard there was a Family Readiness Group (FRG). I went to a meeting not knowing what to expect and I found support that I needed, information that I needed, and life-long friends.
I had never spent time with families who had ever had close family members deployed overseas before. Both my family and my husband's family had no members in the military for several generations and my co-workers had not experienced it either. To my surprise the members of the FRG understood how I felt because they were feeling that way too. It was a very open and honest group and I know our spouses and children benefited from the bonds that we made.
My husband is deployed overseas again, and now I have a new role in the FRG. I am a volunteer. I have learned so much through my husband's deployments that I can now give advice to those that have never done this before. Not to say, I have no worries or fears; just a I am more mentally and emotionally prepared this time around. And I definetly find the support of my FRG comforting during this time.
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