When my father, Odysseus, and his men sailed off to the Trojan War, they were confident their gods favored a quick victory. Instead, the siege of Troy lasted ten years. After Troy fell, the survivors made their way home to Sparta, Mycenae, Pylos, and elsewhere in the ancient Peloponnese. Neither my father nor any of his troops arrived home with the rest. We waited for years as the news grew worse. Odysseus was dead, we were told,or imprisoned, or, worst yet, he had married another woman and abandoned my mother Penelope, my brother Telemachus, and me.


If he is alive somewhere, his thoughts may wander to Penelope and Telemachus, but he won’t be thinking of me. I am the daughter he doesn’t know exists. Odysseus went off to the Trojan War when his son, Telemachus, was barely old enough to walk. His wife, Penelope, was a teenage bride, and is now a young wife, mother, and queen who has to try to rule Ithaca without him.


I was born seven months after he left. I am a hero’s daughter and a princess of his realm, but I have lived my entire life without a father. I’m nineteen now, and still waiting.


All over the world, and throughout history children grow up as I have. This website will focus on the children of those men and women who have gone off to fight America's wars, and provide information and resources for all who care about military families and want to help.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Over the Rainbow, Together


Ashley Siller says that her little girl Abbigail, 5, "thinks that she can't be happy while [her father] is away, like she's not supposed to have fun without him." Abbigail is just one of fifty campers who participated in Hartt Stearns' One World Theatre Camp this last week. Stearns received a Texas Resources for Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment grant with the San Antonio Area Foundation to create the camp, which is exclusively for children of deployed parents. Using the volunteered services of LifeSize Communications, a local high-definition videoconferencing company, the theatre-oriented summer camp was able to videotape its production of The Wizard of Oz so it could be seen live by parents now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Children (and spouses) were able to see the deployed parent on screen while they all watched the show. Afterwards, Siller said, "I loved being able to keep her involved, and it really comforted her." A bonus, says SIller, was being able to meet with other parents in such a fun and uplifting context. Here is a link to an article about the show.
Posted by About AART at 8:07 AM

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