misty7398 keeps up her family's spirits...

"One comes home, another goes."

So begins misty7398's story. She's speaking of her son Scott, 28 and her son-in-law Joe, 26, both of whom have been serving in the Middle East for several years. Two weeks before Scott came home, Joe left for his second tour of duty in the Iraq theater. “Another year of worrying, watching the news on TV, and praying."

Like many eBay members with family serving in the military overseas, misty7398 valiantly keeps the home fires burning as she prays for her loved ones' safety. Also like many others, she has found an unexpected source of support in the eBay Community. On eBay's Community discussion boards she has met several eBay members who have become precious friends, and are there for her and her family while her boys are away at war.

misty7398 reveals the troubled emotions of being a military mom. "It's like watching your child take those first steps all over again. You're so proud to see them take those steps, but you are scared at the same time. You don't want them to hurt themselves. There's an incredible sense of loneliness when your loved one leaves. It doesn't matter how crazy your household is with kids, pets, or your jobs – when a family member leaves to go overseas, there's a void there. A silence, knowing that it will be quite some time before you can hear that voice again. The days drag by. Waiting for the phone to ring. Wanting to hear from that loved one. Wanting to know that they are okay."

She adds with feeling, "I am tremendously proud of my son and my son-in-law! It has been a roller coaster ride over the past few years with those two, starting when Scott spent six months in Bosnia. Then he served one year in Kuwait in 2004, and just came back home for good in late January. His little boy missed him terribly."

After returning from Kuwait, Scott continues to serve a dual role – as a National Guardsman and as a dad. In his dual role Scott tries to live up to his credo, a quote from the movie We Were Soldiers – "I hope that being good at one makes me better at the other." Meanwhile Joe is with his battalion somewhere just north of Baghdad, "right in the thick of things."

misty7398 narrates some of Joe's experiences in Iraq, giving glimpses into the hardship and hope that are a soldier's constant companions. "Some of his memories are pleasant, like sewing up a little Iraqi boy's hand after he unknowingly played with a live grenade…and then the family invited Joe to eat with them. And there were some bad memories. Like the soldier from his unit who was so injured that it wasn't possible to save him. That hit Joe really hard – he kept saying he should have done more."

misty7398 keeps up the spirits of Joe's wife and her daughter, Heather, and their two small children. She admits that it can be hard sometimes. "It was hard for her, being so young and with two small children. And it was hard on us, trying to keep her upbeat." Fortunately misty7398 can always count on her large family to hold down the fort for Heather and her two children. With her is Steve, her husband of 26 years, their four children and six grandchildren, misty7398's mother, her mother-in-law, and their Scottish terrier Bonnie.

But there's an even larger family out there that's also willing and eager to help in any way it can – the eBay Community. misty7398 first discovered eBay in January of 1999, when she was looking for new items to add to her collection of Wizard of Oz memorabilia. Within a month she began selling, and has been going strong ever since. She is also active on the Auction Listings and Animals discussion boards, as well as a member of several eBay Groups. It was on these Community forums that she found support for military families like hers from other eBay members.

"There's a dear friend of mine that I met on the Auction Listings Board – lils.stuff. Without knowing me real well and certainly without knowing my son Scott, she sent packages to him in Kuwait! She also made sure there was extra so he could share the goodies with his roomies. She has been such an angel. My son was always thrilled when he got her packages."

misty7398 and lils.stuff helped start a military tribute thread on the boards – the Yellow Ribbon thread. People come on there and talk about their loved one, their support for the troops, and lils.stuff will post their service person's name with a yellow ribbon!"

misty7398 recalls a post on an eBay discussion board that shows how the eBay Community can rally round to help another member. The thread was started by a young military wife whose husband had just been deployed overseas. Prior to his leaving, their local friends had urged her to call them if she needed anything, but when she did, they weren't available for her. In contrast, her post on the eBay discussion board resulted in many sympathetic and supportive members, mostly perfect strangers, reaching out to her.

As a military mom, she knows that every little bit of support can go a long way to ease the situation for people in military families. "I think it's really important that people keep in touch with and support our military families. If you know them, call them and just say Hi. Volunteer to watch the kids for a little while, just so the parent left behind can have some ‘me' time. Do something to help the person who is left behind at home."

And for those keeping the home fires burning, misty7398 has this piece of advice – keep yourself busy! As for Kathy, one way she says she keeps herself busy is by focusing on her eBay business. She is appreciative of the help she gets from her family. "My mother lives with us and is a tremendous help so I can work on eBay. I do all the listing, pictures, paperwork, and packaging, etc. Mom makes runs to the Post Office with me and takes care of the cooking and laundry. My husband makes runs to the bank and the post office for me, too. They are both very supportive of my endeavors on eBay!"

misty7398 urges people to remember the sacrifices and celebrate the contributions being made by military families every day. "Our troops are amazing....and so are the families they leave behind. My heart goes out to every other mother, father, wife, husband, son, daughter, any family member who is dealing with their loved ones being overseas. To those who have gone back, or will be coming back, or are just getting ready to go over there. And even more so, to those whose loved ones will not be coming back."

Let's salute misty7398 and thousands more like her.