BURLINGTON, Wash. -- It all started as a joke. But military mom Jes Walker-Wyse found a way to help her family cope with their father serving overseas.
First Class Petty Officer John Wyse is enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard the U.S.S. Lincoln. He's been gone for seven months, and this is his fourth deployment. The military lifestyle is something the family has had to adjust to.
"There are so many times when I just need somebody here," Jes said.
For now, Jes has replaced John with a "flat daddy" -- a quarter-inch cutout of John that sits in the living room, at the dinner table and goes just about everywhere Jes and the their two young boys, Jonathan, 4, and Joban, 7 months.
"I wish I would have had the flat daddy for my first deployment when Jonathan was like 18 months old," Jes said.
The boys, interact with 'flat daddy' like dad is really home.
"Its a visible reminder, that this is my husband and this is dad," she said.
The idea came from a website that provides 'flat daddies'. At a cost, military families can have dad recreated on poster board. Its proving to be successful way that families cope with deployment.
"Its been perfect with the baby," says Jes. "I have this feeling that he's going to see his real dad and recognize him. And I really attribute that to the flat daddy."
She hopes the idea works for other military families like hers.
"Having something a visible presence and a reminder will remind everybody not to feel sorry for me, but to just realize where I am coming from," Jes said.
Recently Frontier Communications and the Red Cross announced a new partnership that will provide support for military families, including the purchase of "flat daddies." To learn more about the project, click here to go to http://flatdaddies.com
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