The other day my 14-year-old daughter had an extra-credit history assignment where she had to interview a veteran. She picked up the phone and called my 83-year-old father who lives in Michigan. He served in the Navy during World War II. My father, who can’t even remember what he had for lunch 10 minutes ago, was able to answer every question – in detail – that my daughter asked him for over an hour. It was an amazing reconnection between them, as I watched my daughter listen intently to the stories my dad told her.
My daughter learned a lot that night about a war she never knew; it was more than she ever would have learned from reading a history book. As my father was recounting with great enthusiasm what it was like to walk into Hiroshima just days after the atomic bomb was dropped, I noticed a look I hadn’t seen on her face in a while: She looked proud. She told my father, “Thanks for serving our country Poppy… you were very brave.”
It hit me: In my father’s 83 years of life, I bet he can count on one hand how many people have stopped to tell him that.
Our good friend Jim just returned from a year serving in Iraq. He returned to the United States just in time for Veteran’s Day, and we will celebrate his safe return together just in time for Thanksgiving. His wife is one of my best friends and I know first hand how difficult and vulnerable military families are to long separations.
As you know, I’m always on the lookout for books and ideas that help people stay connected. I also know that there are now more than 1,300 of you on my mailing list and together we could do something to really thank the families who are trying to stay connected while being deployed, especially during the holidays.
My good friend Elaine Dumler has written a book called, “I’m Already Home… Again: Keeping Your Family Close While on Assignment or Deployment.” This book has over 200 easy, fun, inexpensive and amazingly heartwarming ways to keep service men and women connected to their families while they’re separated. It is filled with ingenious connection tips, such as how to write a “Legacy Letter” to a spouse, or how to create “Flat Daddy” (a life-size, waist-up photo of dad/mom put on poster board so young children will recognize their parents when they return). The book has helped tens of thousands of separated families and together we can help a lot more!
Elaine has a list of over 800 names and addresses of military families who want the book, but can’t afford it. In honor of Thanksgiving and Veteran’s Day, please consider helping us reconnect these families by joining us in Operation Connect a Family. All you have to do is click on the link below that will take you to a shopping cart where you’ll be able to quickly donate a book(s) in honor of a veteran you know:
http://www.imalreadyhomeagain.com/opconn.htm
You will receive a confirmation letter with a charge receipt telling you which military base or post your donation is going to be delivered. Let’s see how the power of this network can impact families who are serving our country.
By the way, if your job requires you to travel a lot or be on assignment for long periods of time away from home, you too could benefit from the connecting ideas in Elaine’s book. Here are a few to get you started:
Perfecting Connecting® Action Steps:
1. Before you leave, place Post-It-notes® with loving sayings around your house in special places like the bathroom mirror, inside the refrigerator, or tucked inside a child’s lunch bag.
2. Meet “online” to chat with each other at a prearranged time while you’re doing work on your computer in your hotel room.
3. We carry photos of our kids or grandchildren in our wallets, but if you travel a lot, do they have a photo of you in their wallet, backpack or on their cell phone? That connection is just as important for them as well.
I will be with my father and my siblings this year for Thanksgiving for the first time in 12 years. I can’t wait to hug him and says thanks!