From the title of this post you might think I’m going to be referring to a military mom’s sixth sense about a child’s impending danger.
Truthfully, parents don’t have to have offspring in the military for that sense to be part of our mothering repertoire. I think all moms have that capability.
What I’m referring to is the ability of military moms to find others who have children serving in the armed forces.
It doesn’t seem to matter how crowded the gathering, or even if they’re the only two military moms in the group. You will find them grouped together, usually over coffee, swapping stories and pictures.
But the point of these impromptu meetings goes deeper than that. We don’t just exchange pleasantries, we have each other’s children on our prayer lists. I still keep a long list of those with loved ones serving, and I pray for then faithfully.
We’re not always that hard to spot, even individually, if you know what to look for. During my son’s deployments, I almost always had on my blue star lapel pin. Even now that he’s been honorably discharged, I still wear my official Blue Star Mothers of America pin.
We also tend to not be shy about sporting patriotic colors. My wardrobe is populated with an abundance of navy and red items. I also have quite a few red, white, and blue scarves, many printed with stars and stripes. We’re proud of our children who serve and love to show our support whenever possible.
The sixth sense of a military mom goes beyond the visual, though. We know what it’s like to carry the weight of a child who is serving half a world away, facing things we can only imagine. Hours spent praying, often during the late hours of a sleepless night, forge a bond that can be sensed.
When our children enlisted, we became part of a greater family. And even when our loved one has retired, we owe those that come after us the same support we received. We’re sisters in an elite family and family never abandons family.
