thedrifter
05-11-03, 05:34 PM
A Mother's Day not soon forgotten
BEAUFORT: Troops' return brings 150 moms the best present they could ask for.
By Matt Coffey
Carolina Morning News
Dominick and Chelsea Rodriguez waited Saturday as patiently as kids can beside the orange construction fence at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
Both held signs with "Welcome home" scrawled on them in big letters as the soldiers exited the plane one at a time. But their signs were slightly different from most: The three-letter word at the end of their greetings wasn't "dad."
It was their mom, not their dad, who had been in Iraq for the past three months. Alexandra Rodriguez was one of 150 Marines from Fighter Attack Squadron 533, which was stationed in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom. She returned to Beaufort to a hero's welcome on Saturday, and just in time for a Mother's Day today that no one in the Rodriguez family will soon forget.
"I didn't know it was Mother's Day until a week ago when my husband told me," Alexandra Rodriguez said. "Then I was hoping to get back even more. I know (Dominick and Chelsea) miss out on a lot and I miss out on a lot too, so (today) will be even more special."
Since Rodriguez' deployment in February, Robert Rodriguez has been cooking meals, doing laundry and making lunches.
"It's a lot different when mom's away," he said. "Moms always have that bond from birth. Dad's don't have that soft support moms usually do."
Even though the "soft support" was missing, Robert Rodriguez said the kids took it well.
"The do really well with it," he said. "This deployment didn't affect the kids as much as the last (one). In fact, their grades actually went up."
For Dominick and Chelsea, however, having their mother gone can sometimes be hard to deal with.
"Every time she leaves, I always cry," Chelsea, 9, said. "I don't think she should leave again for a while."
Not only did her mom make it back for Mother's Day, she also made it in time for another special occasion.
In June, Chelsea turns 10 and Robert Rodriguez said that means a lot to their daughter.
With mom back in town, Dominick and Chelsea said they have big plans on how to make up for three months of lost time.
"We're going to take her out to dinner," Dominick, 11, said. "We'll let her rest a little, but we'll definitely spend more time with her for sure."
Chelsea, however, has different plans.
"We're going to do girl things," she said, "go shopping and go to the mall. Dad hates the mall, but I like to throw coins in the fountain."
Alexandra Rodriguez said the hardest part of her deployment was missing out on the little things, like how their day at school went.
"The main thing I want to do right now is spend time with my family and catch up," she said. "I haven't seen them for so long and all I want to do is touch them."
Dominick agreed with his mom.
"I don't like it when she's gone," he said. "I like being a family."
And, for the first time since February, the Rodriguezes are a complete family again.
Reporter Matt Coffey can be reached at 837-5255, ext. 123, or by e-mail by mcoffey@lowcountrynow.com
Copyright 2002 Carolina Morning News
Sempers,
Roger
http://www.lowcountrynow.com/images/051103/full_armymom.jpg
Alexandra Rodrigez hugs her two children Dominick, 11, left, and Chelsea, 9, Saturday after returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom.
-Thomas J. Turney/Carolina Morning News
BEAUFORT: Troops' return brings 150 moms the best present they could ask for.
By Matt Coffey
Carolina Morning News
Dominick and Chelsea Rodriguez waited Saturday as patiently as kids can beside the orange construction fence at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
Both held signs with "Welcome home" scrawled on them in big letters as the soldiers exited the plane one at a time. But their signs were slightly different from most: The three-letter word at the end of their greetings wasn't "dad."
It was their mom, not their dad, who had been in Iraq for the past three months. Alexandra Rodriguez was one of 150 Marines from Fighter Attack Squadron 533, which was stationed in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom. She returned to Beaufort to a hero's welcome on Saturday, and just in time for a Mother's Day today that no one in the Rodriguez family will soon forget.
"I didn't know it was Mother's Day until a week ago when my husband told me," Alexandra Rodriguez said. "Then I was hoping to get back even more. I know (Dominick and Chelsea) miss out on a lot and I miss out on a lot too, so (today) will be even more special."
Since Rodriguez' deployment in February, Robert Rodriguez has been cooking meals, doing laundry and making lunches.
"It's a lot different when mom's away," he said. "Moms always have that bond from birth. Dad's don't have that soft support moms usually do."
Even though the "soft support" was missing, Robert Rodriguez said the kids took it well.
"The do really well with it," he said. "This deployment didn't affect the kids as much as the last (one). In fact, their grades actually went up."
For Dominick and Chelsea, however, having their mother gone can sometimes be hard to deal with.
"Every time she leaves, I always cry," Chelsea, 9, said. "I don't think she should leave again for a while."
Not only did her mom make it back for Mother's Day, she also made it in time for another special occasion.
In June, Chelsea turns 10 and Robert Rodriguez said that means a lot to their daughter.
With mom back in town, Dominick and Chelsea said they have big plans on how to make up for three months of lost time.
"We're going to take her out to dinner," Dominick, 11, said. "We'll let her rest a little, but we'll definitely spend more time with her for sure."
Chelsea, however, has different plans.
"We're going to do girl things," she said, "go shopping and go to the mall. Dad hates the mall, but I like to throw coins in the fountain."
Alexandra Rodriguez said the hardest part of her deployment was missing out on the little things, like how their day at school went.
"The main thing I want to do right now is spend time with my family and catch up," she said. "I haven't seen them for so long and all I want to do is touch them."
Dominick agreed with his mom.
"I don't like it when she's gone," he said. "I like being a family."
And, for the first time since February, the Rodriguezes are a complete family again.
Reporter Matt Coffey can be reached at 837-5255, ext. 123, or by e-mail by mcoffey@lowcountrynow.com
Copyright 2002 Carolina Morning News
Sempers,
Roger
http://www.lowcountrynow.com/images/051103/full_armymom.jpg
Alexandra Rodrigez hugs her two children Dominick, 11, left, and Chelsea, 9, Saturday after returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom.
-Thomas J. Turney/Carolina Morning News