United Through Reading in a COVID-19 World

April 29, 2020

In many ways, military families are just like civilians during the coronavirus pandemic. We’re all — military and civilians alike — holed up in our homes, suffering through virtual schooling, finding endless ways to entertain kids, going on surreal grocery shopping trips, and worrying about our financial futures.

But few civilians know that many military families’ stressors have been magnified by a series of Department of Defense orders intended to slow the spread of the virus among service members.

The Boblett family is in the middle of a two-year unaccompanied tour, with Rex serving overseas while his wife Veronica and their four children stayed stateside in Massachusetts.

Veronica Boblett shares how COVID-19 has affected her family:

“The kids’ lives have been turned upside down because of the coronavirus, just like everyone else. On top of that, their dad is away in the Middle East and they not only have the usual deployment worries, but now they worry if daddy is going to get sick from this virus, and is daddy still going to get to come home to visit or has that changed because of the quarantine. COVID-19 has added a whole other level of anxiety for them.

Rex being able to record himself reading each of them books and sending them home to us to watch is a special thing. It is a visual reminder that daddy is okay, is healthy, and they can see that whenever they need a little extra reassurance. We are so thankful that our family reading time gets to continue even when Rex is away.

It is such a vital part of keeping our family connected, doing something that we’ve always loved to do.”

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