Imagine never knowing when your mommy or daddy, uncle or aunt might have to go away for a while. That's what the children of military families have to deal with all the time.
And that's why Sandpiper Elementary School in Sunrise hosted a special celebration for military children from 14 different Broward County Schools, sending them home with a special plush 'friend.'
"I was actually amazed," said Kathyann Brathwaite, who just moved to Sunrise from the Virgin Islands. "This is new to us, they really appreciate [military children] at the schools."
Brathwaite brought her three kids to the ceremony. Their Aunt Judy was stationed in Afghanistan and just recently returned home.
Joel and Ashely Ramirez brought their son and daughter to the ceremony. Joel served in the Coast Guard and had to be away from his kids for a total of a year and a half.
"It's tough, you know?" he said. "They don't know what's going on."
One hundred children from military families were honored at Sandpiper, each taking home a handmade "pillow pal" thanks to a Boca Raton charity group Quilts of Valor.
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"If I ever have to go away again," Ramirez said, "he has something to remember me."
For others, it was a good reminder that it's not just soldiers who make sacrifices, but their children, too.
