A Military Mom's Mission: Stay Positive

By Marci Seither, Alta, California

As appeared in

Trouble with Jack was the last thing I needed right now, but I knew something was wrong the moment my son’s teacher tapped me on the shoulder. It was the last day of school before winter break. I was in Jack’s first-grade classroom. Kids excitedly gathered up their things for the holiday. Jack was a good student, well behaved and outgoing. But Mrs. Zorichak looked concerned.

“Can you step out into the hall with me, Marci?” she asked. My stomach knotted. I was barely keeping it together.

In just a few weeks our oldest son, Nathan, would deploy on a dangerous mission with the Marines, conducting anti-terrorism patrols on a ship somewhere near the Philippines. My husband, John, had served in the Marines and it had seemed natural when Nathan talked about enlisting.

Now that he was about to be in harm’s way, though, I wasn’t handling it well. The house was too quiet with him away with his unit and his brothers and sisters at school all day. All I wanted to do was retreat into the bedroom closet and cry into a pillow. But I couldn’t do that. I had to keep up a brave face for the kids. I hoped whatever was going on with Jack wasn’t serious.

Mrs. Zorichak led me into the hall. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” she began. Now that we were away from the students she let her worry show. “Jack came into this class knowing how to read. But over the past few weeks he seems to have forgotten everything he knew. I’ve never seen a child go backward like that. He can’t even sound out words. He’s the sweetest boy but academically he’s struggling. Is everything okay at home?”

“Well,” I managed to say, “Nathan is about to ship out on a particularly dangerous mission.”

Nathan, like our other five kids, had gone to this Christian school in our small mountain town. Everyone there knew he was in the Marines. But of course they didn’t know the details of his deployment. And, as I was quickly coming to realize, it’s hard to understand what families of servicemen and women go through unless you’ve experienced it yourself.

Mrs. Zorichak seemed at a loss. “Maybe you can pray about it over the holidays,” she suggested. “I’ll do whatever I can to help, but it will be tough if Jack continues to fall so far behind.”

Once more I fumbled for a reply. I’d never dealt with anything like this before. I’d homeschooled each of my kids until first or second grade and they’d all done fine in school. I knew Jack could read. I’d watched him learn at home. A wave of guilt washed over me. How could I have failed to notice him struggling?

Jack idolized his big brother Nathan, who was 14 years older. And now that I thought about it, Jack had seemed extra clingy with John and me after Nathan left. But I had no idea he was so troubled. How could someone simply stop knowing how to read? I said the first thing that popped into my head.

“How about I keep Jack at home for the rest of the school year? We’ll work on the reading and keep up with his other subjects. Then he can start second grade like normal.”

Mrs. Zorichak seemed relieved. “You’re sure?” she asked.

I saw in a flash the huge responsibility I’d taken on, especially now. But Jack needed me. “Yes, I’m sure,” I said.

Jack gave me a funny look when I began taking books and papers out of his desk. I knelt so I was face to face with him. Jack’s our youngest and it was a big deal for him getting to go to school like his older siblings. What would he say when I told him I was pulling him out?