Military Families
How do you handle birthdays away from family and friends?
My daughter will be turning one next week! We won't be able to go home for her birthday and where we are stationed we haven't really made many friends. DH and I plan having a smash cake for her and giving her a gift, but with it only being the 3 of us, I'm having a hard time not feeling terribly lonely about the whole thing. We are going to skype our families but it just won't be the same. How do you deal with celebrating huge milestones with your loved ones so far away? Dh has been ADAF for 5 years now so it's nothing new to be a little homesick to me but now with my daughter here, it seems a little harder. Just looking for some encouragment to help me see the sunny side! TIA
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Re: How do you handle birthdays away from family and friends?
We went full out with the video chatting party for our daughter's birthday party. We had multiple computer screens -- each of which had multiple people connected, depending on their program of choice (Google, Skype, or Apple). We went through everything that you would go through at a normal birthday party. There was singing, and cake, and opening presents.
Everyone was really great about it.
If you have your daughter in any sort of play group/day care/classes, use that as an opportunity for a party, too. A special outfit and cupcakes can go a long way towards making things feel special.
We have never been with family for either of my son's birthdays and have always had parties with our Army family. I guess it makes me a little sad but I love that we get to celebrate with the people we see everyday who are essentially family to us. Skype with them, do your smash cake then get out of the house and do something fun. Zoo, park, aquarium, etc. Stay busy and try not to think abut what your missing but what you're celebrating.
ETA: Get involved in playgroup or with your unit and try to make friends/build a support system. I was incredibly homesick at our first duty station but we were in Germany and the time differences made it almost impossible to even Skype with our families. I was lucky enough to meet a great group of girls and after 3 PCSs, we still keep in touch almost daily and 3 of them are stationed in the same place we currently are. When my husband was deployed, those ladies were a lifeline and my sanity. Playgroups, MOPS, library story time, mommy & me classes, even just playing at the park and you'll likely meet lots of moms with LOs the same age as your daughter! Good luck and happy birthday to your little girl!