After getting the call from her brother while she and her mother were spending time in Mexico, Alexa Bernabe was overwhelmed. Nearly a year’s worth of preparation had to be adjusted only a few months before her quince in November. 

“I was honestly ready to cancel the whole thing”, Bernabe said. “He was deployed back in June and was told he’d be back in October, it was still only a month out but at least he would’ve been there”. 

Instead of being back home in October like the army soldier had planned, he was deported again to Romania and had to let his younger sister know of the sudden change. This was the first major event with his family that he would be missing. 

“He paid for my dress, which I’m forever grateful for, but I really wanted my brother to be there”,  she said. Bernabe’s family did all they could to ensure the day was still special despite their relative’s absence. “They were definitely there for me to make sure I was okay, but I was emotional whenever he would get brought up. We had a cutout of him up and I barely wanted to look or take pictures with it”.

Since the military personnel’s deployment, he has missed multiple family oriented events, including all 4 of his immediate family members’ birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Years. 

“He’s really close with us, so everything we do, well what we used to do, like holidays and birthdays and stuff, he was always kind of there, and now that he’s not, I can definitely feel his absence.”

For a long 10 months, Alexa tries to speak with her brother every weekend. Making sure to stay in contact and retain a relationship with him, despite his deployment. She counts down the days of his reintegration, awaiting his expected return in August. 

“To anyone going through a similar situation, my advice is to stay calm. Sometimes life isn’t always going to go your way and that’s okay, but better days are definitely coming”.