I know how I feel when he's gone. And I've been lucky! When he travels for work my husband is only gone for a week at the most. I know others are not so lucky. That's why when I close my eyes and try to picture my Grandma during this time my eyes burn with tears and my heart starts to ache inside of my chest.
Grandpa traveled back to Fort Ord and was deployed to the Pacific immediately, joining another company of men. The letters coming home were sporadic at best. Not because he was not writing, but because they never knew when the mail would actually make it out. Sometimes she would get one letter, other times she would get three or four on the same day. All written days apart, but arriving together. Two children, two and under will keep anyone busy and I'm sure that's what she focused her mind on. But with news of the war raging all around you, how do you not worry? Daily there were lists of men killed in combat, injured soldiers returning home irreparably damaged both mentally and physically.
How many times a day did she reach up and caress the dime hanging from her necklace? When her wedding ring caught on a thread did a lump catch in her throat? When she saw him so clearly reflected in the face of her young son, was it too much for her heart to hold?
Stability and strength. It's what she had to be as she parented alone.
**After reading my post, my Dad sent me an email kindly correcting my misunderstanding of this time. She was indeed not alone, but had her kind and patient Father-In-Law there with her during this time. A man who lost his wife as she gave birth to their seventh child, was certainly understanding and supportive of my Grandma during the time that Grandpa was gone!
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