Military Children Catch Kisses!
January 24, 2017
Catching Kisses and Reading Stories to Reduce Military Child Anxiety.
Guest post by: Deborah Diesen
Catch a Kiss is a gentle story about a you
ng girl and her mother blowing and catching kisses in their sunny backyard. It was inspired by the many kisses my children and I blew back and forth when they were young. It reflects the fun of a game shared together by parent and child.
But the story also reflects the hard reality that parents and children are not always together. Like the mission of United Through Reading, the storyline of Catch a Kiss provides a tangible way to address and bridge physical separation and distance. Because of this, Catch a Kiss has resonated with military families who face deployment and military separations.
When time, geography, and responsibilities separate parents from their children, it can be tough terrain for the whole family. Military children experience stress and anxiety as a result of a parent deploying. But there is nothing stronger, more flexible, or more enduring than a parent’s love, even from a great distance. United Through Reading provides a way to connect families during tough separations. The shared stories and kisses blown through UTR-videos help reduce the stress and anxiety caused by being apart.
The character in Catch a Kiss, Izzie, learns about the unstoppable traveling power of love when she misses one of the kisses that her mother blows her. She is sure it’s gone for good, and she is heartbroken.
That’s when her mother lets her in on a secret:
“No matter how far they have to go, no matter what they have to get through, and even if they get lost along the way, Mama-kisses always come find you.”
The love of a parent is stronger than any challenge it encounters. Deployment does not stop it. Barriers do not block it. Distance does not diminish it. It is the ultimate superpower.
When Izzie learns the strength of her mother’s love, she, in turn, discovers the strength of her own. And so Izzie launches a kiss for her mother into the bright, wide sky, knowing that no matter how far it has to go…
Love always finds its way.
by Deborah Diesen, Author