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.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Militarykidz

  If you have a few minutes in a busy day, check out  militarykidz! It’s a really cute and fun website for military children, set up like a military base, with an ID card and check in at the gate.  Sign up for a card and explore the site, starting with the communications center, where you can learn about and practice Morse Code, semaphore signaling and even Braille. There’s lots of educational content too about the history of signing, the alphabet, and so on.  There’s a Boot Camp section where you can learn about military ranks, medals, music, and drill movements.  Take a minute to read the guest book, where kids comment on the website (from  “I’m bored--there are no games!” to “I miss my daddy”).  A very fun project overall, sure to make you smile at some points and say “I didn’t know that” at others.  The graphics are really cute, including the drill sergeant (right) who welcomes you to Boot Camp.
Posted by About AART at 6:50 AM

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