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.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Playing Santa

Santa took to the road a few days back.  Northern Virginia donors and volunteers affiliated with the Our Military Kids’ Wounded Warrior Program provided gifts to nearly 100 military children across the country. Bob Nelson, a real estate agent in Great Falls and Gloria Schaefer, a volunteer, coordinated the effort. Schaefer took responsibility for two brothers, 13 and 10, brothers, whose father was injured serving in Iraq with the National Guard. 
Both of the children had asked for bikes. Due to their father's injury, the bikes had to arrive fully assembled, which made shipping difficult, so Schaefer and her husband drove from McLean, Virginia to Montgomery, Ala. to deliver two fully assembled bicycles in person. 
“After speaking with the family, I knew this was the only option,” said Schaefer. “These kids, along with all the other children of Wounded Warriors, deserve to have Santa visit their homes.” 

Posted by About AART at 6:43 AM

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