Month of The Stiff Upper Lip

April is designated as Month of The Military Child. I think it's fitting that they chose April to focus on military children, because this month is typically the inevitable calm before the storm, the month where they're gearing up for a major transition. It signifies a time of teary goodbyes and stiff upper lips.

You see, May, June and July are the mass exodus months for moving. It's the time of year that many military families have to uproot their lives and start at a new location.
This timeframe allows the child to finish school at their old home and settle in at the new place before starting at a new school, all but guaranteeing an awkward first day as the new kid. Again.

Although it's the military member who technically serves, their families, and particularly their children, make many sacrifices. What's most difficult is that the children have no say, they go when and where the military sends the active duty parent. Saying goodbye is a way of life. They farewell their parent when they deploy, which, these days is often. They hug their grandparents and cousins extra tight, because military bases aren't usually near extended family, and they dream of visiting their old locations to see dear friends. As you know, we had a pretty big move recently, and my son celebrated his birthday at our new home. Since we had only been in this new place a few weeks, he didn't have friends to invite to a party, an older bratty neighbor kid had to suffice. As my son blew out the candles on his cake, he said,  "My wish is to return to Argentina to see my friends." My heart breaks a little when I hear things like this.

But it's not all bad. Military children, "brats" as they're affectionately called, are as patriotic as they come. How can they not be? They grow up on military bases where the movie theatre plays the national anthem before a movie, (and you're required to stand and show respect) and where, at exactly 5:00pm every day, everyone is required to stop what they're doing while the national anthem plays on loud speakers.They learn love of country at an early age, and, because they have the opportunity to live in and visit foreign countries, they truly appreciate the wonderful comforts that our country provides. 

While a major constant in a military child's life is moving, it's also family. Military families are close-knit, bonding over the goodbyes and the new beginnings. Because they're not near biological families, they bond and become families away from their families. They spend countless holidays together, many times with the military members deployed. 

Not many people outside the military fully understand the frustrations and disappointments associated with this lifestyle. Some believe it's easy--movers move all of our stuff, we get to see new places and have friends all over the world. They don't see the behind the scenes stuff, like the fact that when a parent isn't deployed, he or she doesn't work anything close to an 8-5 job,  they're gone well before the child wakes up, and the child is lucky if the parent can see them at home before they go to bed. There are also15-hour-flights to get to a new home or a drive across the United States in a car filled to the brim. Military kids are without treasured toys, bikes and beds for several months while the furniture shipment is en route, and they must live in unfamiliar hotels and temporary housing until a place to live is available.

They are brave and resilient and learn compassion and friendliness practically from birth. They're the first to make another child feel welcome.They also have a fantastic knack for finding the humor in the crazy situations the military throws their way. 

So as most people spend their April planning out their Memorial Day bbqs and their summer vacation, there's another group of people, thousands of little "brats", who are making plans of their own. They're dreaming of old places, hopeful about new places and wishing they could spend more time with their military parent.