ladyangel Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 My son is in Fallujah. I am worried sick. I'm having a hard time talking about this with people. Nobody understands what it is like to go through this unless they have a child there. We've only had one ONE MINUTE phone call from him in two weeks. A man I didn't know came to our door this weekend and my heart stopped. I made my husband answer it. After he left I cried from relief that it wasn't some official with the Marines. I don't know how I'm going to do this for five more months. I know nobody here has answers, but it would help to have someone to talk to. I'm so tired of crying...I try not to cry in front of my husband or my other son because I know they are scared too and I don't want them to worry about me. If anyone has any words of wisdom or advice, I would appreciate it. Link to post Share on other sites
Merin Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Words of Wisdom.. I wish I had something magical to say that would make this better for you.. Keep him in my prayers.. and hope for a safe return home to you and your family. Link to post Share on other sites
RowanRavyn Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 You and Yours are in our thoughts and on our soldier wall. Please take care. I have a good friend who is totally freaked because her SO is over there. Thank heavens my nephew is home right now. ::HUGS:: Link to post Share on other sites
moimeme Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 It seems most of the worst of the battle is over now. Fortunately, a lot of the insurgents left and are reappearing to attack elsewhere. In this case, no news is indeed good news since you would hear immediately if anything had happened. Having done the 'hard lifting' of Fallujah, he may not have to take part in the next attacks. At least I assume that they must try to not burden the same units with having to do all the work. I can't begin to imagine how horrible it must be to have a loved one in constant danger. There must surely be an online or even local support group for military moms? I think there may not be many of them on LS. Here's a fairly lengthy list. Perhaps you might find folks there who can relate better and share the difficulties with you. http://www.geocities.com/kathysmilitarylinks/mom.html Link to post Share on other sites
greenlove Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I sympathize with what you are going through. I too hide my tears from my family for a loved one I worry about who will be going to Iraq. I’m scared and don’t want anyone to worry about me…but my faith remains strong and I believe God will have everything will work out for our best interest. I hope you take care of yourself and remember that there are other people going through the same thing that you can talk too. My heart goes out to you, b/c I know I soon will be in the same situation. I'll remember to keep your son and the other soldiers in my prayers. Link to post Share on other sites
jmargel Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 Your son will be fine, he will be home with you soon. He would not want you to worry or cry, give him the support he needs by thinking only good thoughts. Right now you are overworking your mind and it will do no good by worrying so much. Yes it's natural to worry, but saying a prayer everyday for him and re-enforce the happy thoughts of him re-uniting with you will give him the confidence he needs to make it back home safely. Though he may not be able to hear it in words from you, he will know in his heart. Link to post Share on other sites
Stone Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 Oh my dear, I know you have been dealing with this for quite some time and you and your faimly are such strong people I admire you for that. I still pray for your son every time I pray, he will be o.k. he is a hero Link to post Share on other sites
midori Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 An ex-boyfriend of mine, with whom I'm still in touch sometimes, is also in Fallujah right now, as an embedded journalist. Even though we're not really close anymore, I still worry about him being there. And when we were together, he was going into other hotspots, including sneaking through forested mountains infested with Serb paramilitaries to cover the bombing of Kosovo a few years back. It was tense time for me, and I got through it by believing, absolutely, that he would be all right. I did not allow myself to think otherwise. There was no point in allowing pessimism to creep into my mind, because that wasn't what he needed from me. He needed me to be supportive, and able to listen to him. He went through some harrowing, life-threatening things. If he had to worry about calming me, that would have just added to his burden. I'm not pretending it was easy. But you have to believe that it will be all right -- there's nothing to be gained from thinking that it won't be okay. I tend to get worked up over things when I believe (rightly or wrongly) that I can somehow influence their outcome. But when I know there's absolutely nothing I can do, I tend to just trust that it will work out. No point in thinking otherwise, since you can't do anything anyway. Be strong. Your son will be all right. You just have to believe that. Link to post Share on other sites
Author ladyangel Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 I want to thank everyone who posted and for your kind words and encouragement. And thank you, Moi, for the link. As you can imagine, I have my okay days and my down days. Unfortunately, I made my original post on a really down day. Eight Marines from my son's battalion were injured by an explosive device outside Fallujah several days ago, five of them bad enough to be sent back to a U.S. hospital. Not only is it frightening, but I feel such empathy and anguish for the parents and loved ones of those who are injured or killed. The terrific news is that we heard from John last night!! It was my younger son's birthday and we had gone out to dinner and missed his call. But he left a great message on the recorder to let us know he was back at the base and he was fine, and to wish Jason a happy birthday. We were thrilled and Jason feels very special that his brother would call from Iraq to say happy birthday. What a great present. So we get to breathe easier, for now. Please keep all the troops in your prayers. Link to post Share on other sites
Elmo Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 I can't imagine how hard this is for you. Hope your boy comes home soon. I'll bet he goes to sleep thinking of his wonderful family. That is a gift you gave him. Link to post Share on other sites
Author ladyangel Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 More news today. Their battalion is moving again...somewhere off the base...for at least two months, through the Iraqi elections. All I know is that it's not Fallujah. Unfortunately, lots of other hot spots have cropped up. Good news is I've obtained the email address of a friend of his who is their computer guy and has access to a computer no matter where they go. I'm hoping I can establish contact with him and in some small way keep in touch with my son through him. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Link to post Share on other sites
RowanRavyn Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Fingers crossed, prayers said, candles lit. Anything for you! Link to post Share on other sites
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