My Story As a Military BRAT - Part 3

December 2011 

For the next few weeks, my sister and I stayed with a family friend. It was great because I was able to really feel the love of the military community around me. There were so many individuals, couples, and families who welcomed us with open arms. We were not related to any of them but they treated us like family.

Military family is something that is hard to understand. I grew up not speaking to my blood family (outside of my parents) – so it was hard for me to understand the concept of military family when I did not have any other family. I am grateful to the military family that I have grown to love and to appreciate more than my extended family.

Throughout those few weeks, I continued to do what I normally did any other day – except with some minor changes. We stayed a little further away from where our school was so we had to get up at 0500ish to get up and get ready for school. We would go to school and do the normal there.

It was quite interesting to say the least. I stuck out like a sore thumb.

Not only was I a military child, but I am a military child with a parent who was just catastrophically injured in the line of duty. Many of my friends did not understand what it was like being a military child and they also did not understand the added factors of not knowing if my dad was going to make it to see the next day.

Outside of school is what truly had an impact on me. I remember there would always be someone there to pick us up from school. We would go to their house hang out, do our homework, play, watch tv and do what we did as normal kids. While our normal was completely flipped upside down, everyone was there to make sure our “new normal” was as normal as possible.

Since it was Christmas time, there were different events happening around the unit. They also made sure we had a memorable time. I remember throwing paper airplanes from the second floor down to the first floor on multiple occasions. It was super fun. We also spent time just bouncing around between the different offices. Everyone was so welcoming to my sister and I that they would always do their best to help make the most of the time we were at the unit.

We also got to take part in the unit Christmas party. It was quite fun. I also vividly remember that we played the 50/50 raffle, and we won! So many times, we took one of the worst situations that could have happened to our family and we made the best of it.

22 December 2011

This was a big day for our family. My sister and I had just wrapped up what would be out last day of school in Garfield Heights. We did not know at the time what would be happening. There was so much up in the air of if we would be returning to Cleveland after the holidays or if we would be permanently moving to San Antonio, Texas – where the other half of our family was.

Not only was I excited to go see mom and dad for the first time in months, I was also excited to go on my first plane ride! I remember being a little girl driving passed the Cleveland Airport asking mom and dad when we would get to go on our first flight and dreaming of the day, I took my first flight (well second first flight). I had flown once to Missouri when dad was stationed there, but I was a couple months old so there is no way I remember it.

Well, that day was finally here. It was not to go on vacation like we would have hoped it was to but it was go to see my family and I was so excited. And plus, I had bever been to Texas before, so I was also very excited to go there!

When we landed in San Antonio, Texas and walked off of the plane, I was so excited to see my mom standing there ready to welcome us to Texas. Every time we would fly in or out of the San Antonio airport, I would always remember seeing the very first gate we flew through. I believe it was C22 (I may be wrong haha – it has been 12 years).

Going to the hospital for the first time was a crazy experience. I had never really spent much time in a hospital setting before so it was an eerie feeling. Still to this day, I do not like being in a hospital. Seeing my dad for the first time since before he deployed was indescribable. It was something where I was so excited to see him, but I was scared, anxious, unprepared, and all of the other emotions. It was something I never wish on anyone, but I was also very thankful. My dad made it and my dad was fortunate to live another day and there are so many families who did not get that fortunate experience.

While the next few years of our experience in San Antonio were rough, they were really shaping into the woman I am today. I was forced to mature at a much faster rate than those around me (even the military children). It is something that I still struggle with today. At 21 I am much more mature than those around me and I do not want to be, but here I am. That is something that I cannot change and I can only make the best of.

While my story goes on from here and has its highs and lows, I want to encourage you to check out the podcast to hear more! There are so many topics that I feel are important to discuss for military children and their families and I want to be sure to touch on that on this blog. I am super excited for the potential for this platform and the amount of families that can be reached!