I was blessed to have two parents who served in the United States military. My mother and father were both members of the US Air Force, and I thank them as much as possible for their sacrifices and teaching me so much as I grew into the man I am today.
Growing up in a military family is difficult and rewarding at the same time, especially around the holidays. It's hard to develop holiday traditions while being a military child because you run the risk of one or both parents being on a TDY (Temporary Duty Assignment) during the holidays or encountering was a PCS (Permanent Change of Station). Sometimes parents are stationed at different locations making it difficult to come together for the holidays.
Celebrating Christmas in a hotel was always a possibility. You would expect it to be similar to the stories of Eloise in the Plaza Hotel, and as a child it is, but the older you get the less magical it is. The experience of opening presents on a hotel bed after opening the door to see them instead of finding them under the tree is upsetting, but as a young child, you're excited because Santa came to your hotel. You long for a home during the holidays, but it helps make sense of the platitude, "Home is where the heart is."
While encountering a PCS during the holiday season you pack up your entire life and just leave everything to go somewhere new. Sometimes you have to postpone Christmas because of travels and limited space. I can imagine postponing Christmas is a difficult thing to tell your child: having to explain that Santa is coming late this year, and having to explain he's not coming on Christmas day because your family had to move, but you are assuaged because you get to travel for the holidays. The experience mimics a vacation. You spend the holiday in a new and interesting place with your family, and the best Christmas present of all is a new house.
The most difficult part about being a military child during the Christmas season was when one of your parents was TDY; it's also the most commonly encountered situation. Parents surprising their children by coming home early for the season is always heartwarming, but it does not always happen. Sometimes parents can't find a way home for the holidays, whether it be distance or a large workload.
It's an interesting experience being a military child around the holidays, sometimes you adore it and sometimes you curse it. Although you might be jealous of what someone else has like being able to see their entire family or just their grandparents for the holidays, the countless family traditions or just being home with your parents, you should not be jealous because you have something not everyone does.
You get to live in exotic places, making each Christmas different. You can link your Christmas memories to the different places you lived in, or were moving to. And most of all you learn. You learn to appreciate what you have. You learn to covet the time you get to spend with your family. You learn to cherish your memories and your loved ones. And eventually, when you get old enough to understand it, you learn that those experiences are more valuable than any gift you could have ever received.
