Mother's Day Reflections

Saturday afternoon I met a woman in the San Francisco airport who was also flying back to her home in Seattle. This thirty five year old mother of two struck up a conversation with me at our gate, by asking me how I managed to get on an earlier flight to Seattle. I said I was trying to get home to my husband and kids faster than planned because Sunday was not only mother's day but also my birthday and I really wanted to see my family after a weekend with my girlfriends in San Francisco. As we talked I realized that my new friend was not flying towards her kids, she was actually flying farther away and wouldn't be reunited with her 6 and 8 year old until mid June. Her children were with Daddy in Germany where both she and her husband are stationed in the military. She was headed to Seattle for six weeks of work placement. I don't understand military talk but I took this to mean she was sent to Seattle to a job within the army. When she finally returns to Germany in June she has a few short weeks with her husband and then he heads to Afghanistan. He'd just finished a tour in Iraq and was enjoying down time.
This woman was young, sweet and missing her children, but sat there telling me that she is from a military family, who are all in Germany and she'd proud to be a soldier. Like a bump on a log, I listened to her words, heard the dedication between what she said and what she didn't say, and was suddenly was overwhelmed with gratitude that there are people like her in this country. I don't know if I'd ever thought about it before to that degree, but here was a mother who was making daily sacrifices for me to be able to live this life of freedom in America, specifically Sammamish Washington.
Here on the 'Teau, we are sheltered from this, living our priviledged lives far away from military bases, only hearing about our soldiers on the news or from friends, when someone's brother is deployed. At least that's how sheltered I am. I felt ignorant listening to this mother talk about her duty to America. She didn't shed a tear from her misty eyes, smiled through our conversation and was happy that I would see my children that night. I was not returning to the war zone, a work posting, or a childless apartment. I'd been wining and dining with other 'Teau Mamas at Fisherman's Wharf for three days, having pedicures at the Nob Hill Spa and rewarding ourselves for a lousy winter of rain.
 I wanted to hug the woman when I left to board the earlier plane, I wanted to say thank you for being in the army, for sacrificing your husband, your time with your children and your comforts to allow us to live the American Dream. Instead I told her I'd enjoyed our conversation, to have a good flight and Happy Mother's Day, even though I knew she would be thousands of miles away from her babies for many more weeks. I wanted to tell her I'm grateful.