Birthday greetings and love from a mom

Well today is a very special day. It is my son't 23rd Birthday.

My son is an integral part of "I Surrender This" and without him and his journey, I very well might not be sitting here writing this blog on Surrender.

Although I have not as yet written a complete account of what it was like having a son at war...it was the precipice for "I Surrender This". It was my own "dark night of the soul".

I created "I Surrender This" during his first deployment to Afghanistan which lasted for 10 months. Both the project and the concept of Surrender are what kept me going, what got me through. He was 19 years old. Here is a photo of him during that time. He loves animals!!!

It was on his 19th birthday that he called me with the news that he was to deploy to Afghanistan. What a birthday present!!! Here is an exerpt from a letter I wrote to news-anchor Peter Jennings.

On his 19 birthday, I received a phone call at work from him. The first thing he said to me was that he had just received the best birthday present of his life. I had not sent him anything and wondered what on Earth he could have gotten. He told me they had received orders that morning that they were deploying to Afghanistan in October. This was the end of July, July 29th to be exact. I swallowed hard and tried to be happy for him. I hung up the phone and cried. He came home to Connecticut on leave a few weeks before his deployment and let me tell you, saying goodbye to him at the airport was THE hardest thing I have ever done in my life. No words can begin to explain the emotion of sending a son off to war. He would be stationed on the border of Pakistan working as part of a 7 man scout/sniper team.

Today July 29, 2007...we celebrate another birthday. I thank God every day for my ability to Surrender. The peace I got when I placed this beloved child of mine directly into the "hand of God".

So, my Quinn, Happy, Happy Birthday. I love you more than words can say. Thank you for all that you are...a hero to many.

Love Mom XXXXOOOO