At a ceremony in March of last year at the Illinois National Guard"s Marseilles armory, Lt. Col. Jodi Padavana and 15 other Guard members from throughout Illinois said their formal goodbyes before leaving for the Middle East.

Padavana"s daughter, Jessica, hugged her and cried.

"My daughter takes it kind of hard, because her and I are pretty close," Padavana, a chemistry teacher at Auburn High School in Rockford, told The Times.

In March 2009, all 16 Guard members returned home safely, and Sunday morning most were again present at the Marseilles armory with about 30 friends and family members as their special unit deactivated and they were awarded medals and special mementos in recognition of their service.

Jessica, 12, a seventh-grade student, did not shed a single tear. She wore a purple T-shirt with her name and the legend "Jodi"s Team," as did her brother, Nathan, 9; her mother"s sister and her mother"s parents.

"Thank God for my mom and my sister," Padavana told The Times.

"They both came in and took over my house and took over everything with my kids, taking them to all the different sports activities and music practices and just keeping up with everything they were doing day-to-day.

"Thanks to them I was able to make it through my deployment, because if it had been anybody else I don"t think I would have been able to do it.

"You always worry about what your kids are doing and if they"re okay and what the impact of being gone is having on them. But having them and the others who helped to rely on is what made the difference."

For the main care givers — her mother and sister and the children"s father — it was a challenge.

"I"m in Lockport and mom is in Willowbrook," said sister Donna Malanca.

"Mom would do Monday and Tuesday, then I would come up Wednesday morning and be there Thursday and Friday. Then their dad would have them on the weekends.

"It took the three of us to handle two kids," she laughed.

"On Mondays I would leave at one o"clock in the morning, me and the dog," said mother Lorene Padavana. "And 78 miles later we were at (her daughter"s home in) Monroe Center."

"I had to go so early because their dad is a teacher in Chicago, so I had to get there in time for him to leave for his school.

"My son also helped, my son-in-law helped, and their grandpa helped, too. We were a good team.

"It was a hard year, but it was all worth it. She came home safe and, you know, kids need their mother.

For her kids, there were basic rules, but also some different rules depending on which adult was present: Less so with their father and more so with their aunt, said Jessica.

Jodi Padavana keep in touch with phone calls and, while she was in Iraq, through Skype, a computer software tool that allows video conferencing.

Her friend, Alejandra Cease, a retired National Guard major, handled her financial affairs. They had met when Jodi Padavana had been her company commander in a Guard unit, said Cease.

"I know it was hard on you, but we feel this was a higher cause we went to serve for and we did accomplish a lot over there," Col. David Matakas, who had commanded the unit, told those present.

The unit's duties had been to work with Polish units in both countries whose duties included performing security operations and disarming illegally armed groups. He said the unit was unique in that its members served in both countries during a single tour overseas.

All the soldiers received decorations from Brig. Gen. Robert Pratt, a farmer from Hopedale.

Padavana received four decorations: the Bronze Star and Army Commendation medals and medals for service in each county.

Arriving home in March, Padavana had time to get reacquainted with her children.

"It took a couple of months for my kids to get used to me being home and get back to my expectations for them, day-to-day chores, homework and stuff."

Then, last week came one last step back to normalcy when she returned to her classroom at Auburn High School.

"Oh," she said with a heavy sigh. "The kids are killing me, I"m wiped out."