The surrogate
It begins with a woman who yearns for a baby and another who is willing and able to give her one. You can imagine the motives of the prospective parents. But what about the woman willing to carry a baby, give birth and then walk away?
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BRANDON — A group of military spouses in eastern Hillsborough County is helping strangers become best friends.
The group, which meets weekly at the MacDill Family Resource Center in Brandon and also holds other frequent get-togethers, brings together moms who are married to servicemen and who live in the Brandon-Riverview-Valrico area.
"At any given time there's several women whose husbands are deployed," said L. D. Gale, the group's unofficial leader.
Gayle Cook, director of the Brandon family center, credits Gale with organizing the group and keeping it running.
Members help each other with child care, parenting advice and whatever else they need.
They hold baby showers, recommend doctors and welcome new military families to the area. Some of them are training together for a triathlon.
About 80 percent of the 12,000 people stationed at MacDill live off base, primarily in eastern and southern Hillsborough County.
MacDill is the only military base in the world with a satellite family center outside its gates.
The group started in 2006 as an offshoot of a playgroup at the Brandon family resource center.
"None of us knew anybody, so we jumped on the chance to hang out with other military moms," said Gale, a 40-year-old mother of two.
Then, there would be about a half-dozen women at the group's monthly Mom's Night Out. Now, there are nearly three times that many, Gale said.
Many are women like Michele Huff, who moved here last year and, for the first time, became a stay-at-home mom.
"This was the first time that I moved somewhere and didn't go to work, so for me it was very difficult," Huff said.
MacDill doesn't have the same family support networks as many other bases because most of those stationed here are senior headquarters personnel. Gale said that means spouses sometimes feel isolated.
The group welcomes all military spouses, regardless of branch or rank or anything else.
"It's almost like the military is brought to you," Huff said.
Jan Wesner can be reached at jwesner@sptimes.com or 661-2439.
>>AT A GLANCE
To join the group
Call Gayle Cook at 655-9281 for more information on the military moms group and other programs.
[Last modified: Aug 21, 2008 04:30 AM]
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