Parents at War, and the Kids Are Left Home Alone

Feb. 22, 2007 — -- Audrey Delgadillo starts her day at 6:30 a.m. by waking her four sisters.

"I wake up about 6:30, get the girls ready within 15 to 30 minutes, drive them to their day care by 7:00, 7:05," Audrey said.

It's not a typical morning routine for your average 20-year-old, but Audrey is not your ordinary college student. She is raising a family of four while her mom and stepfather are serving in Iraq.

Audrey has been caring for her four sisters -- Stephanie, 17; Grace, 10; Ashley, 4; and Emily, 3 -- since her mom, Claudia, an Army reservist, was called up for active duty in the summer.

At that time, the family decided together that stepfather Gary, who had just returned from Iraq, would go back to help Claudia adjust.

The decision was hardest for Claudia, who is now serving with Gary at the Balad Air Base in Iraq, just 50 miles from Baghdad.

"I worried about leaving the girls, but Gary knew how dangerous and lonely it would be and did not want me to go through it alone," Claudia said.

And Audrey was adamant she could make it work.

"I am the closest thing that they have to my mom right now, and I told her that I will do it," Audrey said.

She told her mom, "Don't ever feel like you made me do this, that you asked."

"Because she never asked. She never made me do anything. I chose this, and don't ever think twice about it," Audrey said.

Audrey said the first three months had been the hardest, when the girls all missed and worried about their parents.

Audrey shielded the girls from reports about the danger and violence in Iraq, but Ashley still suffered from nightmares, and Grace refused to talk about her fears.

Audrey says that her little sisters have now adjusted to their new life, and that she has adapted to her new role as mom.