The children of service people have to cope with months of separation from their parents. Only some get the community support they deserve.

Brian Kelly has grown up in a loving household. He is fortunate to have two parents who care for him. But Brian has to cope with spending long amounts of time apart from his dad, Dean.

Dan Kelly works in the US Air Force. He has served all over the world. Most recently, he was in Syria.

Brian missed his dad more and more every passing day. Luckily, he had neighbors who were willing to do what they could to fill the void.

One day, Dean Cravens’s door rang. Dean opened the door and saw Brian, his neighbor, standing on the other side. The boy was visibly upset. Dean asked Brian what was happening.

Brian wouldn’t make eye contact with Dean. He shyly asked if he could help with any yard work. The boy then explained that he liked to do that with his dad.

Dean knew that Brian’s dad was overseas. He realized that he couldn’t refuse the boy from having this link with his dad, so he agreed.

Dean and Brian spent the next few hours pulling up weeds and watering plants. Dean could see how happy Brian was with this activity.

The next day, Brian showed up at Dean’s house again. Once more, Dean was happy to let Dean work in the yard.

Pretty soon, Brian was showing up every day to spend time around Dean and his family. Without fail, he’d do “dad stuff” with Dean. And whenever the “dad stuff” was done, Dean was so much brighter than before.

Dean is no stranger to fatherhood. In fact, he has raised three daughters, who are now all grown up. But he never had a son. Thanks to Brian, he now knows what this feels like.

Dean’s daughter, Molly, saw Brian turn up at her dad’s house again and again. She soon warmed to the boy. But more than anything, she loved to witness Brian and her dad’s friendship. She had always known that her dad had a big heart. But this was on a whole new level.

She took some photos of Brian and her dad and posted their story to Twitter. That tweet became incredibly popular on the platform. To date, it has gained over 20,000 likes. It also has more than 2,700 retweets and 50 comments. People have been saying things like this:

Of course, Dean has in no way replaced Brian’s father. He is just allowing a child to feel closer to his dad.

When Dan comes back from overseas and hears how Dean has helped his son, he is sure to be appreciative.

There are many children in America who are just like Brian. There are currently hundreds of thousands of servicemen and women deployed overseas.

Many of these people have children. All of them have families. Communities really need to do what they can to help children and other family members who are parted from their loved ones.

Recently, most people have had to spend time apart from their friends and family due to coronavirus. Just think, the pain of being apart is much more frequent for service people and their families.

Anyone who has longed for a family member or worried about their safety during social distancing can understand what kids like Brian Kelly are going through.

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Source: Bored Daddy, Happiest, Vetfriends