Staff Sgt. Eliece Soebbing: Mom goes to war
Print
Monday, January 25, 2010
To read more about the members of this unit, and how life on the homefront has changed, click here.
While other soldiers tearfully held
onto young children before deploying to Afghanistan, Eliece
Soebbing happily sat on the floor in her fatigues watching her
1-year-old daughter crawl and laugh. "I'm in total denial," Eliece
admits.
Even though she knew that within hours she would be leaving her daughter for 13 months, Eliece chose to focus on the positive. She knows she'll miss some important moments as a mom, but she's glad she was there to see her baby's first tooth and her first tentative steps.
And Eliece keeps reminding herself that the separation will be much harder on mom than on baby-Madelyn won't even remember the deployment when she is older.
Eliece's mom, Monica, says her daughter struggled when she first found out she would be deployed.
"She asked if she was being selfish for being excited about the deployment and leaving the responsibility of child care to her husband and parents," Monica says. "We told her that she's not the one being selfish, that military members like her who are willing to make this sacrifice for the rest of us make what we do at home to help them out peanuts."
Eliece's family draws comfort from knowing that the medical unit she deployed with is filled with good, compassionate soldiers.
"They support each other and you can tell they care about each other," Monica says. "They'll bring each other home."
Liz DeCarlo is the senior editor at Chicago Parent.
See more of Liz's stories here.
Contact Liz at ldecarlo@chicagoparent.com
Our picks
We are so proud of all of you!By Monica Soebbing on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 Thank you to Chicago Parent Magazine for showing yet another side to the story of our soldiers. We are here to support our soldiers by keeping their little ones safe & well cared for in their absence...and to remind them that Mommy loves them too. Eliece's photo is on our fridge, in our living room, & we even have a copy covered in clear Contact so Maddy can see Mommy when she is here with G'ma & G'pa. We will not let her forget her Mom, who is our very special hero. |
Thank you
By Nycole Peterson (Soebbing) on Tuesday, November 13, 2012
We are all so very proud of you and everyone else who is with you keeping us all here safe. We hope you come back safe. A big thanks to the Chicago Parent for showing that not only are you a soldier but a mom and a great one at that. We hope you all come back safe.