My Sad, Little Pirate

Braden has been missing his dad like crazy this past week or so. Since the boys' father loves pirates, I thought it would be a fun way for them to kind of remember him while he's gone by taking them to Pirate Island (again). They both loved it so much and it encouraged Braden to talk about his dad the last time we went and let's be real... The place is just so dang cool.

Does this quote remind you of anyone?

I'm telling you, this place screams Tye every which way you look. Of course there are pirates every which way you look, so that makes it quite easy. If you asked me a year ago to go into a pirate place I would have said no way! I wanted nothing to do with pirates or the military for that matter. Now, it doesn't bother me, I'm over it, Tye and I are friends and I am glad. With things the way they are now, I can take the boys to do something that will help with the memories of their dad.

My cute little pirates:

So back to my tender Braden for a minute... He has been crying every day and calling for his dad while he's crying. He tells me that he is sad and not not happy inside even when he's having fun and he won't be happy until his daddy comes back. Its enough to break any mom's heart. I got to thinking and turned to Amazon.com for good books about divorce and deployment for kids. I found two awesome ones that are coming sometime this week and I think they will help tremendously. These poor kids have been through a lot this past year and have had so much to adjust to. My hope is that these books will help him understand his emotions, to be able to process them and help with his grief over the "loss" of his father. They get to talk to their dad once a week on the phone but it doesn't fill that void. Any other military mom's who have dealt with deployment have any advice on how to help the little guys?