Adopt A Soldier

I was on my Facebook page earlier this week and a friend of mine posted that she'd adopted a soldier.  She was looking for a used digital camera to send to him....it was on his wish list.  Someone withing her Facebook family offered up a camera that they weren't using anymore and now it'll be sent off with other goodies to her adopted soldier.

I've thought about doing this very thing for several years.  I just didn't know how.  There are several websites that you can find addresses to contact soldiers.  I've tried the last two years but I never heard back from the soldier that I'd contacted.  I basically lost hope that I would ever be able to adopt a soldier.

Well, I asked my friend if she could ask her soldier if there was someone else who might want to have an adopted family?  She forwarded me a soldiers name within a couple hours.  I was so excited!  I emailed the young man right away and within a short time I heard back from him.

By now I'm so excited I can't stand it.  My soldiers name is Steven and he's 25 years old.  We're just getting to know each other, but I have a feeling that he doesn't have much family.  He lost his mom this year, but I don't know the details.  Everyone needs a mom to care for them and send them goodies when they are overseas.  I just keep thinking to myself, this young man is only a couple of years older than my son.

Anyhow, we've emailed back and forth a couple of times and all he really asked for was some soap and shampoo.  I guess these are some of the things that are hard to get in Afghanistan.  Well, Scott and I went shopping yesterday and bought two big bags of things to send to him.  Including the soap and shampoo he requested.

I can't describe how happy it makes me to be able to write to someone and ask him how he's doing.  To be able to send him a few things that might make his day a little better.  Steven is an Apache helicopter mechanic.  That is the coolest thing EVER!  And even though I hardly know him, the mom in me worries about his safety. 

I started thinking about these very young men and women who serve in the military.  They are barely adults and they are serving our country in the most giving way possible.  Some of them are giving their lives.  I think you would be hard pressed to find a person who hasn't been touched by the war going on in Iraq or Afghanistan.  Whether it's a family member, a friend, a friend of a friend, or a community member....we've all been touched by this war.

I'm not going anti-war on you.  I think that the war on terror is so important to the safety of each and every one of us here in the United States.  If we didn't have troops on the ground overseas, I feel like we would have alot more issues here at home.  I'm so thankful for each and every service member who protects us every day!