For the most part, I didn't grow up moving around. I didn't grow up knowing my father while he was in the military, but I did grow up being a veteran's child.
You see, my father was in the military as soon as he graduated high school. By the time I was enrolled in Kindergarten, he had retired his military life. He put up his boots, and he moved our family back to his hometown in Wisconsin. This means that I had no recollection of living while my father was in the military, because I was simply too young.
Living the life of a veteran's daughter isn't much different than living the life of the normal child. There were no perks, we weren't around his military buddies much, and we didn't move around because he was being stationed somewhere. In fact, we only moved after he left the military, and -- from what I remember -- I didn't really meet any of his military buddies until I had grown older; Simply because they didn't live near us.
What is different about growing up as a veteran's child, though, is pretty simple, but extremely important. Growing up as a veteran's child means that the military was an automatic option for me. Yes, it can be an automatic option for others as well, but growing up as a veteran's child forces you to think about it more. It's something that can connect you to your parent(s) on a deeper level. It's a way to help the people around you, and a way to provide for your family. Going into the service is a lot of things, but when you grow up as a veteran's child, it means something more.
Growing up as a veteran's child, I also feel as though I held an automatic respect for members of service -- any type of service. Many people completely disregard people who risk their lives daily for citizens -- police officers, fire fighters, military members, etc. However, I grew up with great admiration for all service men and women. I grew up knowing exactly what they're putting on the line for me: not only their lives, but they're putting their spouse, their parents, and their children in risk of having their lives turned upside down by losing them.
I grew up looking up to my father, and I grew up learning subtle things about the military -- which gave me more of an insight than most citizens. While my father wasn't in the military during my memorable life, being a veteran's child gave me the opportunity to ask questions. Being a veteran's child gave me the opportunity to learn about the military, ways to respect the members and the reason why we need to respect these members.
My father wasn't in the military during a time of my life that I could remember it, but I grew up as a veteran's child.
