Oh boy, what a tearjerker! The entire episode was about military families and the sacrifices we (and by we I mean ALL military families) have made over the last 10 years in this war.
What I thought was most interesting, was the discussion that there is a disconnect among most of the people in this country and the 1% who are actually in the military. Most Americans don't even know someone that is actively serving. First Lady Michelle Obama, along with Tom Brokaw and Bob Woodward came on Oprah to be an advocate for us and our families.
This website, http://www.serve.gov/ is set up to provide people with volunteer opportunities in their area. I typed in my own zip code and was surprised at just how much actually came up. Spurred into action, I immediately emailed the volunteer coordinator at our local state Veteran's Home that is just around the corner from us. It doesn't have to apply to military families, there are tons of organizations that need volunteers.
My point in this post is this--We can all help out in ways to support our active and veteran military and their families. I also believe we as military families should pay it forward and help out in any way we can.
Over the years, I have often heard the phrase, "The Navy takes care of their own, the Marines take care of their own," etc. I think we as military families need to break out of that line of thinking and be able to ask for help when we need it. I'm very happy to see Mrs. Obama step forward and ask regular, everyday people to help take care of us too! We are not looking for freebies, and the needs of every military family are different. Some need a lot of support. Some need little, some don't need any at all, and can help out other families.
I am very fortunate to have an incredible support system while my husband is gone. I also live in a town that is very, very good to our military families and I'm grateful for that. Not everyone is as fortunate as myself though and it's disheartening to me to see our bravest soldiers and their families isolated from the love and support they need.
I know that there are a lot of problems in this world and I know that people have their own worries, concerns and struggles to deal with. But I really, truly hope with all my heart and soul that something (okay, many good things!) will come of this Oprah episode that aired today.
If nothing else, take a moment and visit the website
http://www.serve.gov/
What I thought was most interesting, was the discussion that there is a disconnect among most of the people in this country and the 1% who are actually in the military. Most Americans don't even know someone that is actively serving. First Lady Michelle Obama, along with Tom Brokaw and Bob Woodward came on Oprah to be an advocate for us and our families.
This website, http://www.serve.gov/ is set up to provide people with volunteer opportunities in their area. I typed in my own zip code and was surprised at just how much actually came up. Spurred into action, I immediately emailed the volunteer coordinator at our local state Veteran's Home that is just around the corner from us. It doesn't have to apply to military families, there are tons of organizations that need volunteers.
My point in this post is this--We can all help out in ways to support our active and veteran military and their families. I also believe we as military families should pay it forward and help out in any way we can.
Over the years, I have often heard the phrase, "The Navy takes care of their own, the Marines take care of their own," etc. I think we as military families need to break out of that line of thinking and be able to ask for help when we need it. I'm very happy to see Mrs. Obama step forward and ask regular, everyday people to help take care of us too! We are not looking for freebies, and the needs of every military family are different. Some need a lot of support. Some need little, some don't need any at all, and can help out other families.
I am very fortunate to have an incredible support system while my husband is gone. I also live in a town that is very, very good to our military families and I'm grateful for that. Not everyone is as fortunate as myself though and it's disheartening to me to see our bravest soldiers and their families isolated from the love and support they need.
I know that there are a lot of problems in this world and I know that people have their own worries, concerns and struggles to deal with. But I really, truly hope with all my heart and soul that something (okay, many good things!) will come of this Oprah episode that aired today.
If nothing else, take a moment and visit the website
http://www.serve.gov/
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