Monday, May 26, 2008

Military Brats - How I survived 11 different schools and 9 moves before I turned 18

The world as I know it is a welcome and fun place where those who know how and are not afraid can roam and feel at home.

Hello world. I was a military brat... some one who has the unique lifestyle, with parent or parents who are in the military. My dad was in the Navy and we moved every 3 years so I grew up in many different states and countries. I loved the nomad, existence, and new adventure and seeing the world. Our family vacations could be the Grand Canyon one year and Big Ben the next. It was a great experience; however, I didn't do to well in school. The simple reason was because half the time I would be transferring over Christmas, and well they just finished teaching what I was supposed to learn... in October and I missed that at my last school, because they taught that in the spring. Grammar and spelling as well as math, were the worst to suffer. Plus always being the "new girl" I had to learn fast how to make friends. A skill I still have. This does not mean I was a "fast girl", just really good at finding friends and developing friendships. I really excelled in the creative side however; I loved sewing, doing anything with glue and scissors. Art and those projects where you draw a diagram or make a model, I always got an A.

Here is more of how I survived….

First .......I do feel "connected" I as a person even thought I don't have the traditional roots, most people feel necessary in order to feel at "home". I had great parents who taught me a great deal about how a family should function and support one another through good and bad times. We had a sense of adventure for each move and our new surroundings were full of friends to meet and experiences to be had.

Second..........My dad is gone now....his heart finally failed him. He is buried in Arlington right across the highway from the Pentagon.  I stood at his grave a few weeks after September 11, (yes I flew then), I went to Arlington and looked across into the face of the destruction caused by the crash there. I felt I understood in a new way, the dedication my father personified in his life work in the Navy.

Finally...... I can only feel a great deal of respect and pride for those who have served, those who have worked to protect our ideals and freedoms, and those Veterans who gave their ultimate for our country and our rights. It is personal for me; it is for my life too they served.

1 comment:

Robin@creations-anew.com said...

Your dad sounds like he was a wonderful man. I stopped and thanked the LORD that I still have mine!...
....and I graduated from a DODD school Karlsruhe American High School, Karlsruhe Germany!

Robin