June 26, 2009 
by Rebekah Sanderlin
J.L. Smith didn’t hesitate before ‘Reporting for Doodie.’ Her daughter and her son-in-law, members of the Air Force and Army, respectively, were being deployed and they needed her to care for their two-year-old son Marcus. She had watched Marcus for long stints before, when the demands of military life had previously tugged on his parents, but this time would be the longest - six months. And this time she was going through a divorce and would have to do all the work herself.
Still, like military family members everywhere these days, Smith knew she could do it because she knew she had to do it.
“People would say, ‘I don’t know how you do it,’ every single day,” Smith said. “But you do what you’ve got to do. You just do it.”
In her book “Reporting for Doodie” Smith details what it was like to be a suddenly single, not quite 50-year-old “Gramma”, caring for a toddler, resurrecting her dating life, managing her full-time career - and doing it all without the use of her good hand. (A medical condition caused her right hand to stop functioning for a while.) Most remarkably, she kept her spirits up and, when it was all over, she realized that Marcus saved her from herself and showed her just how strong she really was.
“Reporting for Doodie” is irreverent and funny. Readers - grandmothers, mothers, aunts and anyone flying solo while caring for little ones - will see themselves in Smith’s extremely relatable and laugh-out-loud funny book. One warning: This is not your Grandmother’s military guide. Smith starts the book off with Marcus running out onto the sidewalk, in front of all her neighbors, waving a bright red “marital aid” complete with flashing lights. She was so embarrassed that she grabbed him and the toy, went inside the house and didn’t come out until the next morning - which meant that she left the garden hose on and flowing into her yard for the entire night.
Smith said that it was in that moment that she decided to write a book about her experiences. Other people were probably in similar circumstances or would be in the future, she thought, and maybe she could help them by sharing her story. It took her a year and three tries to get the book written because twice her computer crashed and she lost all of her work. In the end, though, she thinks the book is better as it is now than it would have been if the earlier versions hadn’t been destroyed.
The book reads like part journal/part girlfriend-to-girlfriend advice guide. Smith shares with readers how she rediscovers parenting and learns that some of the rules have changed. (Her grandson’s daycare once scorned her for bringing a peanut butter sandwich in his lunch and suggested that she try making him a sandwich of cream cheese and sprouts instead.) Also, like military families everywhere, she forges tight bonds with neighbors she barely knew before and she learns who she can rely on in difficult times.
“Reporting for Doodie” is not serious literature, nor is it meant to be. Readers looking for introspective prose or serious essays on wartime struggles will be disappointed. It is, however, a light, fun and quick read full of touching and funny moments.
Smith said that she would like to hear other people’s personal stories of how they “reported for doodie.” She hopes to compile the stories into a second book. To learn more about Smith, her projects and to read her blog or submit your own story, check out her website, www.ReportingforDoodie.com.