Month of the Military Child, Part One

April is the Month of the Military Child.  If you are like me, by now you figure there is a day or month for everything- and we have all seen some obscure ones!  But they mean something special to someone, or at least some fun, right?  (Reference National Talk Like a Pirate Day...)  Anyhow, being a military family, in a larger family of military families, I think this is a good time to celebrate the thank yous and triumphs that come with our crazy life.  I thought it might be good to take a few posts to share what it means to be a military child in our family.

Many of you know this has been a challenging Spring in facing a few rather tough bullies for our oldest child.  Many thanks to the government, because for many of our trials in this life, the children and I have had long-distance support from Charlie. (That and what I consider close air support from our near extended family, as in my Dad talking me through plumbing over the phone, my father in law picking up kids when the tornado took the shed in the middle of storms and he and Camille and Jamie pitching in when I stood in the middle of one crisis or another and couldn't be enough people in enough places, my mother talking me off the limb late at night, well you know what I mean...)  But this month, the government deemed it necessary for me to have a husband at home.  He got home just in time to walk into the worst of the storm right beside Bailey and I.  While he might have sat there wishing for duty orders to just about anywhere, we were all really glad to stand together as a family.  I was very thankful, as we are all learning how to all be in the same city on similar schedules for the first time since Charlie and I married over fifteen years ago.

In our military family, we close ranks and take care of one another.  Wyatt and Bailey know how to pitch in, and how to stand up for each other and remember  the little details that make the other feel better or stronger when the rest of the world doesn't care.  We don't live anywhere close to base, but make occasional military child events, and they know how to shake their heads and move on when people think our life is easy or make comments like "Is your father actually around right now."  Like all military children they know that comments like the baby killer ones are just from people who don't know better but somewhere deep down should appreciate the sacrifices for the freedom to say unthoughtful things.

The kids also know how to look out for others, and to follow through, and show respect.  In short, they are not really much different than a lot of other children raised in families with values of family, respect, manners and altruism.  But just to make sure the folks from around the world who read this blog know we are just like other folks, I think I will share a photo or two a day for the rest of the month of what our military children do.  Here goes the first two...

They hike the Arizona trail and check out ghost towns,,,

They enjoy playtime with their Daddy whenever he is in town and as soon as the chores are done...

and lots more!

Y'all have a good night now, and wave to the airplanes, I think it makes them fly happier...