Kim Abbott is all too familiar with the sadness that can overwhelm a mother who has a child in the military.

Her son, Spc. Edward Ohl, is a helicopter mechanic with the 101st Airborne currently serving in Kuwait and soon to be in Iraq.

Ohl, 25, who's been in the Army for four years, has been stationed in the Persian Gulf since March 1 and Mrs. Abbott said he is supposed to remain there until February.

During the nearly six months of her son's deployment, Mrs. Abbott said she has probably communicated with him via e-mail or phone only about once or twice a month.

And in any context, but especially from a mother's viewpoint, that is virtually no contact at all. So Mrs. Abbott and a handful of other area women have decided to do something to provide support for people in similar situations.