Hopefully, today I am waking up for the first time in my new house in Texas! We will be nose deep in boxes for several more days but I'm hoping we are all motivated to get things done (I hope this because I'm typing this out several days in advance!).
Today, I have another special guest for you. My dear friend Amber from Goodnight Moon agreed to write a guest post for me about growing up a Marine brat then becoming a Marine wife. See...I know all about growing up Army but was interested in hearing about the Marine side of things. However, from Amber's post, I've learned that the two aren't any different in the eyes of a child. I hope you enjoy Amber's post as much as I did!
Take it away Amber!
I was born and raised a Marine brat. I’ve owned a military ID card since my 10th birthday. A day that I so looked forward to. Not only did I turn 2 whole hands old, I was also in the double digits. But that wasn’t what I looked forward to, turning 10. If you are military brat yourself, you know that when you turn 10yrs old, you get to go down to the ID card center and get your picture taken and are finally able to have that flashy brown military dependant ID card. I was so excited and proud to have that ID card. It meant that I was able to go into the PX or commissary and buy something ALL.BY.MYSELF. It meant that I was old enough to walk up to the base pool, sign in and show my ID card to prove that I belonged there. But it also meant that I was responsible in my parent’s eyes to hold that ID card, the ID card that had my father’s social security number on it. Gosh forbid if I ever lost it…which I never did, thankfully!
Today, I have another special guest for you. My dear friend Amber from Goodnight Moon agreed to write a guest post for me about growing up a Marine brat then becoming a Marine wife. See...I know all about growing up Army but was interested in hearing about the Marine side of things. However, from Amber's post, I've learned that the two aren't any different in the eyes of a child. I hope you enjoy Amber's post as much as I did!
Take it away Amber!
I was born and raised a Marine brat. I’ve owned a military ID card since my 10th birthday. A day that I so looked forward to. Not only did I turn 2 whole hands old, I was also in the double digits. But that wasn’t what I looked forward to, turning 10. If you are military brat yourself, you know that when you turn 10yrs old, you get to go down to the ID card center and get your picture taken and are finally able to have that flashy brown military dependant ID card. I was so excited and proud to have that ID card. It meant that I was able to go into the PX or commissary and buy something ALL.BY.MYSELF. It meant that I was old enough to walk up to the base pool, sign in and show my ID card to prove that I belonged there. But it also meant that I was responsible in my parent’s eyes to hold that ID card, the ID card that had my father’s social security number on it. Gosh forbid if I ever lost it…which I never did, thankfully!
I learned responsibility at a very young age. Being brought up in the military taught me life lessons that have stuck with me and have shaped me into who I am today. I basically have the attitude “suck it up and get over it” attitude. I pretty much apply that attitude to all aspects of my life.
When my father was gone {which was a lot}, I don’t ever really remember sitting around crying about it. I’m sure I did, especially when I was very young, but I was use to him being gone all the time. He missed a lot of special moments in my life that I really wish he was there to be a part of, but I remember “sucking it up”. That was what I did, and that is what I still do to this day being a military wife.
I learned at a young age that my dad had no control over when he had to leave us. My mom taught me how to support my dad and how to stay strong within myself when my dad was gone. Watching my mom be a strong military wife at a young age, really helped shape me into being one myself.
I am pretty lucky to have been brought up a Marine brat, because without being around this lifestyle I call home, I’m not sure how I would’ve handled being a Marine wife today?
