SHE LEFT THE DAY AFTER MY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION

By Karleena 18,  New York      Friday, August 01, 2008

I was actually a part of the OMK family, but as my mom got closer to deployment I was disconnected. My mom was 39 when she joined the Naval Reserves, we thought it was great and she was actually doing what she wanted to do so many years ago. Granted, she joined when many people were retiring. As a matter of fact my father was part of the Marine Corps and he was just retiring. So to put it into perspective, I have been around the military for my whole life. My mom finally got her orders and was informed that she would be deploying in May, when she told them that she would not be leaving the U.S. until she saw me graduate, they granted her extended time and she got permission to stay behind until the 29th of June, the day after I graduate. The great thing in the deal was that she was here for my 18th birthday and my high school graduation. My graduation was a blast, we had WOKO's Wild Bill Sargent here to DJ and we had so many people at my house, including my mom's chief, that you could barely move. The day she left it was agonizing pain shooting all through my body. As I watched her plane take off I wanted to throw up, a part of me wanted to just yell out "no, stop, you can't go," but I knew that she needed to and I couldn't say anything that would change it. It's been a little over a month and it's been so awkward in my house, no one talks about it and I feel that she is still here in some way. I just hope that she comes home safely.

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