Dept of Defense Photo Essay: Troops Reunite with Families

The Department of Defense has created a special section on their website in support of April as the Month of the Military Child.

While the entire site is wonderful, I was particularly touched to see the photo essays of troops returning home to their families and of our nation's military children.

As someone who has waited for their father to return from deployments throughout her life - to war zones and to not - I think they did a fantastic job of capturing the essence of the emotional reunion.

It's a day that military families hope and dream about - long before the military member even leaves. The families' faces and the look on the faces of those children, are so powerful.

Many thanks to the Department of Defense for shining a spotlight on military children and for showing beautiful moments.

*family with heart image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com*

Sesame Street Experience for Military Families

I'm always a fan of any company that the USO recruits to takes time out to thank the troops and their families. This year the Sesame Street Experience for Military Families traveled to more than 40 bases to put on an incredible show. I'm glad to hear the USO plans to continue the show next year and expand it to travel to more bases in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

The show is live - complete with many muppets- and is similar to the Broadway version, only smaller. A special tweak has been made for military families though . . . when Elmo sings "You Make Elmo Proud" he praises military kids for helping their parents and being strong when one parent is away.

The Sesame Workshop has paid special attention to military children lately. They have a special section on their website titled, "Talk, Listen, Connect." This section offers information, videos, posters, music and support for military families as they face challenging transitions such as deployments, homecomings, moves, and TDYs. By the way, the program is also bilingual.

As a military brat, I can personally say that this is amazing. I wish they had had this around when I was growing up. This program isn't new (it was launched in 2006) but I wanted to mention it because it is an incredible resource. So to the Sesame Workshop I must say - - - thank you, thank you, thank you.