Cally

Meet Cally, mother of two ages 7 weeks old and 2 years old.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget Cally’s COVID story full of sacrifice, love and family support. Her strength inspires and strikes a cord in me like I can’t even describe. Her words say it all. Read them, every last word.

Cally, thank you for sharing your story and showing what it means to be selfless. You bring me hope during these tough times!

Words written by Cally:
“Last summer we found out we were pregnant with our second baby and shortly after found out my husband Ian, in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, was getting deployed. We made plans for our 2 year old son Flynn and me to move to my parents’ while Ian was gone. We were excited that Ian would be able to come home for a short time around the birth of our daughter.

Then COVID happened and the Department of Defense (DOD) put a freeze in travel - we found out the Sunday before she was due that my husband would not be able to be home for our daughter’s birth. My sister, a nurse at Boston Childrens, stepped in as my labor partner and then two masked sisters checked into UConn hospital and Gracie Lynn was born on March 18th.

Life has been full of challenges and blessings lately. Having my new daughter next to my bed without my husband beside me, having Flynn ask about his daddy every day, and knowing Gracie Lynn will not meet her daddy for many months is more than I can handle sometimes. Yet I am blessed to have my amazing husband who never complains about his situation and who has memorized “Goodnight Moon” and “Wherever You Are my love will find you” so he can read it to Flynn as he turns the pages at bedtime. I am blessed to have two beautiful, healthy and resilient babies. I am blessed to have parents that have stepped in as “second parents” to my babies. I am blessed to have two sisters that FaceTime me every day and have become my support system. I am blessed to have Ian’s mom and dad, a calm voice in the other end of the phone whenever I need to hear her voice.

Being a military spouse - especially at a time like this - is challenging but my blessings are greater. Thank you so much for documenting this time in our lives.”