Childhood Memories

My childhood was a serious ordeal, filled with rigidity. I have fond childhood memories; I was blessed with two caring and affectionate, but very strict parents. Memories of childhood choke me up and bring tears to my eyes. Looking back and remembering I see my father who was quite remarkably fearless in just about everything he did. My mother was tender hearted but demanding. She raised my sister and I almost as though she was a single parent. You see, I am a military brat.

Military Brats grow up immersed in a life which we did not choose, but it is all we know. It was just a way of life, we did not know anything different. The schools I attended on all the different bases always said the National Anthem every morning before class started. This is sad to me, because I don't know of a school outside a Military base that does this. We are Americans and children regardless if they live on a base or off a base should be taught the pride and privilege of being an American. This is just one small thing that has always stayed with me from my childhood to adulthood.

As I reflect back on my childhood memories it is clear that the moving, the rules, the striving for perfection and the discipline were all constants in my life. I felt as though I was persistently being viewed under a microscope. Every couple of years there were new friends to be make and new schools to attend, all living with the utmost highest standards. My actions good or bad always directly affected my father's career. I had to do what was right, if I did not it was my father who answered to any misconduct conducted by me.

When one needs to relocate, you just do it! There is nothing to talk about, it is an order and orders must be filled. There were always boxes that never quite got unpacked, regardless of how long the assignment was, or how short it was. The stuff in those boxes you soon learned were not the necessity in your life. So why unpack them, you would just have to repack them back up sooner or later.

Even though we moved as a family, there were times when my dad would leave to go on stints of TDY's which are Temporary Duty Assignments; than mom would have to play the role of both parents, in spite of the duration; even if it was for 2 weeks or one year. Meeting the new kids on base and attending the new schools were not really hard transitions. Most Air Force kids that you come across hold the same empathy in their hearts and just welcome you in without any reservations. We were already friends, we just had never meet one another.

It was a rigid life, but my experiences growing up in the military family was a very positive occurrence. Though moving was always difficult and stressful, it was an accepted part of this diverse life. The strictness and being constantly monitored developed my inner strengths and shaped a self sufficient adult. My fondest childhood memories may not be that of going to Disneyland, or the oceans

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