Kodak Moment - A Mother's Love
There were so many photos that I could have chosen as my entry for the Kodak Contest. Almost every photo I have holds some kind of special moment or memory in my life and making the decision on which one to use was a very difficult choice.
On November 19, 2010 my brother David arrived back home after spending a year in the mountains of Afghanistan with the Connecticut National Guard. This was his second deployment and it took its toll on our entire family but no one felt it as hard as my mom.
This was truly a moment I will never forget and was so glad that I was able to capture their reunion through my tears of joy.
As the mother of a son who in in the U.S. Army and has been deployed four times there are no words to describe the anxiety, fear and emotional rollercoaster you go through every moment of each and every day when your child is sent off to fight in a war.
David is the youngest in our family of six and my mom's "baby boy". During the year David was gone my mom and I spoke often and she was always overjoyed when she received an email or a letter from David letting her know that he was okay. There were other days too when it broke my heart to hear in her voice how frightened and fearful she was about David when there was something in the news or in the paper about an IED attack or the death of a soldier in Afghanistan.
This was something that became ever evident around Easter 2010 when my mom received an email from David to let her know he had received a package she had sent him and that he had just been out on a mission and after a devastating day got back late. He didn't really want to go into details about it, but 5 of his brothers were severely injured that day..,3 of them had already returned stateside to Walter Reed and the other 2 would be returning to their FOB after they fully recovered.
In his email David asked my mom not to worry about him even though he knew she would. He let her know that he was resilient beyond resilient and keeping a positive attitude even in the face of adversity and danger....that the guys with him were the greatest soldiers in the world...and they kept their brothers alive that day... and while it was a dangerous place there, their equipment was amazing and would keep them safe.
David was due to find out soon about the dates for his upcoming two-week leave back home. As luck would have it his leave was scheduled for the last two weeks of August when my mom makes her yearly visit to her brother in Washington State for the entire month and missed seeing David when he came home.
When my mom received word that David's unit was coming home in mid-November it was such a day of great joy and happiness. Once we had the final date and time of the arrival of his plane in Hartfor our initial plans were for me to meet my mom, David's son Tristan and his mother in Hartford so we could all drive up together. Plans changed and I ended up driving up alone arriving at the airport just in time as David's plane arrived forty minutes earlier than expected.
I looked all over for my mom and prayed that she was somewhere in the crowd and had gotten there in time. If there was one thing I didn't want was for her not to be on that tarmac to see her baby get off that plane to welcome him home. Unfortunately they had gotten a later start, got stuck in traffic and didn't arrive until around 2:00 pm but I made sure I was ready with camera in hand to snap the photo of their special moment.
Our family will be spending a joyous and thankful holiday this year knowing David is home safe and sound. There are thousands of soldiers unfortunately who will not have the opportunity to be home with their family and loved ones. Please take time during the hustle and bustle of this holiday season to support and keep our military in your thoughts and prayers.
This post is written as a submission to the ActiveRain 'Kodak Moments' contest. I have the chance to win the KODAK EASYSHARE M580 Digital Camera
To participate in the ActiveRain contest, visit the blog post announcing the contest from Kodak and ActiveRain.
Written and Posted by:
Donna Bigda - REALTOR®
RE/MAX Alliance - Branford, CT 06405
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Copyright © 2010 by Donna Bigda, All Rights Reserved ...*Kodak Moment - A Mother's Love*
