A little something special for her on Mother’s Day
Don’t panic, men! You have not forgotten Mother’s Day! I am attempting to bring some attention to a new product put out by a trusted name, in hopes that it will bring an extra big smile to the faces of our deployed soldiers who are also mothers. The product is a Mother’s Day card, but not just any ordinary Mother’s Day card. These cards have a device contained within them that allows a personal greeting message to be recorded by the sender, and then heard upon opening the card, by the receiver. The company selling the product is none other than Hallmark. I think it is safe to say that every woman knows the name Hallmark, and every wise man knows where a close by Hallmark store can be found!
Who are these soldier moms?
Last year, for the Mother’s Day holiday, Congress released a report by the Joint Economic Committee titled:
MOTHER’S DAY REPORT: Helping Military Moms Balance Family and Longer Deployments”
The report highlights the demographics of mothers who serve in our Armed Forces today:
Today, women are a substantial part of the active duty force. Women make up approximately 14.3 percent of the active duty military.2 Approximately, 40 percent of women in the active duty force have children, compared to 44 percent of active duty men
Women are deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, and they too have faced the death of friends, close calls, wounds, and missing their families back home. According to the report,
“Since 2001, nearly half of all women in the active duty force (including reservists) have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. According to data from the Department of Defense in February 2007, 24,475 women are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. As of April 14, 2007, 85 women have lost their lives during U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, 474 women have been wounded in Iraq since the beginning of 2007.
I am not bringing you this news to depress you, but rather, I implore you to think of these women and to pray for them. Also keep in mind how difficult it must be for a “mother soldier” to be away from the very little ones who honored her with the wonderful title of “mother.”
I was contacted by a man representing Hallmark and was asked to consider the product as something I wouldn’t mind letting my readers know about. I will be getting a sample of the card, and I will record a message and let you all know its ease of use and its clarity.
This Mother’s Day please tell any families of deployed mothers that you know about the newest card from Hallmark. Another idea that may be a little late for this Mother’s Day is to buy some extra cards and send them to Iraq for deployed soldiers who would like to send a card like this to their mothers and wives. Just as hearing our voices reminds them of home, when we hear their voices it is a balm to the worry we live with. For those few precious moments we are breathing freely again. How nice to have a small card that you can tuck away just about anywhere, including your pocket book that has his/her voice contained within.
I know that nothing short of being home and with family seems small, but I think that having a recorded message proclaiming “Happy Mother’s Day!” in the voices of her loved ones, may make her feel just a little closer to her home.
that picture says a thousand words, Claire. How lovely!
Piper, that picture always chokes me up.
The card is a most thoughtful idea. The primary focus of media military new is on the men who serve. Rarely do we hear about the women of our armed forces. If I may mention this, Claire, if there are any women who have served overseas and would be interested in sharing their experience, there is a female veteran from New York state working on a documentary and she is asking for female veterans to contact her.
She can be Googled at “GI Kate!”, her milblog, or emailed at:
arita8×8@yahoo.com
Wishing Hallmark and Kate all the best in their ventures. Keeping all those who serve in thoughts and prayers.
I wish these cards were on the market in ‘93 when the wife and I were FRG coords.
There’s nothing like a voice from home.
I remember vividly calling home from an R N R in Hong Kong in l970. The call cost $10/minute and had a ten minute limit. Thats $100, which was a months combat pay at the time.
Cathy, you are more than welcome to announce that, and if I can post about it to get the word out, just let me know. I would love to hear more.
Al, I bet that $100 phone call was worth all the gold in Ft. Knox (it probably felt like it cost that much too!)
Claire: A priceless memory. And that’s in l970 dollars. LOL.
And what has changed: Hong Kong is now ChiCom, The Reds are getting an undeserved Olypics, and the Star Ferry is still running.
I had a blast in HK at that time, and one of the best sights was Tiger Balm Gardens, atop Victoria Island. I still use Tiger Balm for the knee arthritis and it’s the best stuff I’ve found for that. Get the extra strength. It’s available in health food stores.
Oh I became fast acquainted with the wonders of tiger balm when I sprained my ankle in grad school. It’s the only muscle ointment that I actually enjoy smelling! lol Good stuff, and very effective.