Mary Kay Bishop isn’t the average blue star mother.

Since her son, 1st Lt. Will Bishop, 24, enlisted, she’s made it her mission to ensure he and the men he serves with are given some reminders of home.

He started Army Ranger training after his University Wisconsin-Madison graduation, and Bishop has been sending packages filled with hundreds of cards, food, toiletries and other items since then. He is now second-in-command of a company with 150 people.

She spends several hours each week preparing the packages, and is prepared for months ahead.

“I don’t worry about me, because I know you’ll take care of me. I’m worried about my men.” she said her son told her before deployment.

“So I’m taking care of his men.”

—initially published March, 2013 at greenbaypressgazette.com