My mom and dad were both in the military. They had to take care of my brother, sister, and  I. They retired when we moved back to Texas in 2011.

Both of my parents now work on base for the government. They started in the Air Force, and are still technically working for them. Luckily, my parents weren’t in the military too long.

I was born in Texas, but my mom got deployed to Germany, which was when we moved. We were there for two years. One year, I was supposed to be in Pre-K, but our area didn’t have one. After that, I went to Ramstein Elementary for Kindergarten. My mom was deployed, as mentioned, so my dad had to take care of my brother, sister, and I. We had a babysitter to help, since my dad had a day job.

This made me emotionally and mentally stronger, because my mom missed two of my birthdays, one Christmas, and multiple other holidays. I’m sure this made my dad, brother, and sister stronger too.

I was lucky, because we only had to move once (to Germany). Lots of other families have had to move multiple times.

I like being in a military family because it makes me think of how much my parents have helped me and others. I want to be in the military when I grow up as well, so I can help just as much.

This is how my experience of being in a military family went. It wasn’t too bad or traumatizing, which is good. I am aware that lots of other families have rougher times. I’m thankful for my experience.