PATRICIA &
MIKE FOSTER

Parents

MARCH 26, 2003 · Many of the troops deployed in the Iraq war are mothers of children back home. Army Communications Specialist Patricia Foster is stationed in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, where she's been since January. Back home in Fort Carson, Colo., are her husband, Mike, and their two daughters, Kaitlin, 7, and Michelle, 6. Patricia and Mike can only talk on the phone once a week, sometimes less. Patricia says just like you can have a bad day with your children at home, you can have a bad phone call -- from thousands of miles away. Here is her family's War Diary entry.

Patricia Foster: "Well, the last time I talked to them, it was kind of funny. They had just gotten in trouble for throwing rocks at each other, so neither one of them were very happy at that moment. My husband had told me about it before I started talking to my oldest daughter, Kaitlin, and when she got on the phone she told me that she had gotten into trouble for, she said, throwing rocks at Sissy. And then she told me that Sissy hit her in the head with a rock. I asked her if she thought that was right and she said no. So I talked to Michelle, my youngest, and I asked her why she was throwing rocks and she said Sissy was doing it too but Daddy had put them in their rooms for a weekend. They weren't allowed to go outside to play."

	Fort Carson, Colorado

Mike Foster: "I get a little bit stricter on the kids when she's not around. You know, we're raising two real strong-willed kids that Mom kind of lets them get away with quite a bit. And don't get me wrong, she's strict on them as well, but I would have to say that I'm worse than she is. You know, the kids are dealing with it OK. They understood this was probably going to happen, and the main issue is her not being here."

Patricia Foster: "I miss them so much, but I know that they're in really good hands with my husband, and I know that they're safe. And that's why I'm here, is to make sure they stay safe."