AskNathan.com

Before you get very far you will realize this is not a political statement or a rant about how most of us go on as if we have not been at war although the title may make it sound that way. This is dedicated to the families left behind during deployment and uprooted often during peacetime. I was an Army brat. Or more accurately I am an Army brat. You never are the same after being at the beck and call of the military. Although it is one or both of the parents who is officially enlisted the family is “imbedded” just as fully. Before you think I am complaining let me explain. As a military kid you have different definitions than civilian kids you meet. Often to the rooted kid “home” is a house, a physical place. To a military kid it is wherever your family is today. That place may change at any time. From birth to high school I lived in 9 houses 3 of which were not owned by the federal government. When you are collected into a grouping of Christians of all denominations into Post Chapels, you get a different view of Christianity. You tend to concentrate on the things you have in common rather than on whether “debts” or “trespasses” is more “Biblical”. It is true that the years after the Vietnam war were difficult for military kids. We were laughed at openly for loving our country. I suspect that many military kids today have similar conflicts with their politically “correct” peers. If you are a kid going through it right now hold firm to the right (the truly correct not just what is popular now). Being true to values of our founders and giving selflessly for the protection of others is honorable.

OK so I got a bit off topic but this is a blog not an academic article. I want to dedicate this to the moms (or non military dads) who hold the family together during deployment or multiple moves or both. Even though we tended to move every 2 years or so my mother still made our quarters a home. She painted or more often in army quarters stripped paint. I remember how frustrated she was when she found that the walnut mantelpiece or the brass fixtures or even the glass in the kitchen had been painted. As the old army expression goes

If it moves, move it. If it moves on its own, salute it. If you can’t move it paint it.

Boy, did we find that to be the case. Because I had not known anything else I did not note it as a child but one fact now amazes me. My mother planted things! Even though we were only there for a short time. Even though we did not even own the house… She planted roses, irises, daffodils, tomatoes, even shrubs… She wanted this place to be a home not just where we lived for x number of months. If you know a military family (past or present) thank them for their service. And of course don’t forget the veterans who were the reason for their commitment.

Thanks Mom and Dad for your service to our country and for your example and service to us as a family!

Your Son,
Nathan