My Mom’s in the Navy

November 11 is Veterans Day, a holiday honoring people who have served in America’s military. In my family, it’s a special day. My mom serves in the U.S. Navy!

My mom is Jasmine Waters, and she’s part of a team that watches out for safety on a Navy ship. She’s been in the Navy since I was 2. She sometimes gets deployed, or sent on military missions. When she’s away, my grandparents take care of me.

This year, my mom was deployed for 206 days in a row. That’s the longest a Navy ship has ever been at sea! To stay in touch, we FaceTimed, texted, and emailed.

When my mom got back in August, she surprised me. I was at the park when my mom snuck up behind me. I jumped up to hug her. I was so excited! We spent weeks doing fun stuff together.

Soon my mom will leave on another big deployment. It will be hard being apart. But I am proud of her, and I’m glad she does what she does. Whenever I see signs thanking veterans, I say to myself, “Hey, one day they’ll be honoring my mom!”