Since the second I was born, I was a military brat.
military brat (noun): the child of a parent or parents serving full-time in
the United States Armed Forces, and can also refer to the subculture
and lifestyle of such families. The term refers to both current and
former children of such families.
My dad completed his years of service and retired from the Army in 2012. My whole childhood was a bit on the "mobile" side. We were always moving or when my dad settled our family, he was always on the road. As a military brat, there's a few things we all can just relate to.
1. Trying to figure out how to answer the "where are you from?" question at a new school
New schools were always fun. I went through six schools throughout the years and always got hit with the one question, "So where are you from?" Well I was born (insert town name here) but just moved from (insert other town name here) but also lived (insert town name here,) (here,) and (here.) Cue the eye rolls and "why did we even ask" looks from your new classmates.
2. You remember your "big" childhood moments based off of where you lived, not your age
I can't tell you how old I was when I first learned how to ride my bike down the gravel road outside our house without really doing the math. I can tell you straight off the jump that we lived in Hays, Kansas. Your life's biggest moments were based off of locations not ages.
3. Military time conversion is not a struggle for you
My current job requires me to input time punches for our employees in military time. I have no problem converting 9:32 p.m. to 21:32 military time. It's something that you just pick up on.
4. Military alphabet was frequently heard
Dad was on the phone and always had to spell his name, "L as in LIMA, A as in ALFA, R as in ROMEO, Y as in YANKEE." (Yes, my dad's name is spelled with just one "r.")
5. You are always early
Your clocks are set five to ten minutes fast. You are fifteen minutes early to your scheduled appointment, even though you know the doctor runs late. It was instilled in your mind as the right thing to do ever since you understood the concept of time.
6. Adults love you because of your manners
"Yes ma'am/sir," "please," and "thank you," were common vocabulary words throughout your life. You learned to hold doors open for people, even if you are a girl. Because of it, most of those older than you are shocked when you do such actions, as it's not as common nowadays.
7. Fourth of July is your favorite holiday
If your dad was an artillery man like mine, you grew up around a guy who's job was to literally blow things up. Fourth of July was bigger than Christmas most years at my house. Money was spent like crazy.
8. You get seriously offended when someone doesn't give proper attention during "The Star Spangled Banner"
You were raised to happily put your right hand over your heart and direct your attention to our nation's flag. In fact, every event you attended with your parents, everyone did the same thing while our soldiers saluted the flag. Have some respect, people!
9. VA Bill benefits are pretty sweet
It's a kind of crazy thought that because you're a military dependent, you're able to reap some sweet benefits off of your dad's (or mom's in some cases) service. My student loan owed amount is significantly less than most of my friends because of the VA Bill, and I had access and opportunity to apply for many state and national scholarships solely for military dependents. Thanks, Dad!
10. Being grown up now, you are thankful for any time you get to spend with your family
At least one of your family members was always gone. Whether it was at work, drill weekend, or deployment, they weren't able to be around as much as they would have liked to be. There's nothing more I cherish now than being able to go visit and spend time as a whole, as a family.
Thank you for all that you did for myself, our family, and our country, Dad.
