I spent 28 years in the military and more times then not, my family took a backseat to the demands of the military. Many times friends and family stepped in to help bridge the gap while I was gone. With that said I ask and encourage my fellow parishioners to help step in and offer to help those families with what ever you can offer.

1. The mother is often saddled with holding the family fort down while the spouse is gone. One of the best things to do is to offer to watch the kids while mom needs to take a Saturday break to recharge.

2. Offer to help them with family activities or shuttling kids around.

3. Help with outside chores around the house - cutting and trimming the landscaping, mowing the lawn, moving snow.

4. Bringing the littles to Sunday School/Church.

It doesn't take a big time commitment to help out.

Thanks and God Bless to those that helped my family during my many deployments.

Mike Weisz