There are so many questions and sayings that I hear over and over and over again as an Army Brat. Sometimes these question get a little old from hearing 24/7, but I still have to answer them. So, to make things easier when you go to talk to an Army Brat, here are the five things we are tired of hearing.
1. Where are you from?
Well… I was born in Ohio, then my family moved to Texas. After that it was New York, and then Ohio again, and then it was Kentucky/Tennessee because we lived right on the border. Then it was Louisiana, and then South Carolina, and then Texas again. And THAT is the short version.
2. Are deployments hard?
My father goes off every
couple of years for nine to twelve months at a time to fight for our country - to
fight for you and your family. He’s in harm’s way the moment he leaves our
house, and my family just has to wait it out while not being able to talk to
him for days at a time. In fact, in the last six years of my life, my dad has
been gone for three of them. Whether he’s training away from home or deployed,
he’s missed a lot of my life. Sometimes that just sucks, but it's part of our life.
3. Don't you hate moving all the time?
I actually love moving. It’s a whole new adventure waiting. Sure the boxes get annoying and I constantly injure myself because I am oh so graceful. But I love exploring new cities and meeting new people. The boxes on the other hand? Yeah, I could live without those.
4. Why are you call an “Army Brat”? What does that even mean? Isn’t being called an “Brat” offensive?
The term “Army Brat” is just the term people use for kids who move around with their military parents. There’s no deeper meaning. It’s just how things are. And no, it is not offensive. In fact, I haven’t met a Brat who takes offense to that term. It’s just a general name given to us.
We embrace it.
5. Being in a relationship with someone in the military never works out.
Can you say that and look at my parents who have been happily married for over 30 years?
P.S. Aren't they adorable?
These things are just the tip of the iceburg. People don’t know what life is really like for us Army Brats, so typically we're asked a lot of different questions. And it’s okay if you don’t understand our lives. You may not have been called to live the life we live and that's okay. Whether soldiers and their families realize it or not, they are called to this life that we live. They are all giving people. They give their time and sometimes their lives for you and your family. Their children are just the same. We’re raised to give and to be explorers and to make the best out of any situation. Even though every Brat has heard these questions umpteen amounts of times, we’ll still answer all of your questions that you have. Because really, we wouldn’t trade this life for anything.
