I grew up in a tiny little town in Virginia that probably wouldn't be considered tiny anymore, yet is still small enough that my oldest daughter had my 1st grade teacher as her 1st grade teacher, and that I taught 8th grade English there with my 8th grade English teacher. In my opinion, this makes it small enough. I loved growing up in small town, surrounded by history and people I had know my entire life. And then I married a military man and moved far, far away and I thought all of that would change--that my own kids would never have that sense of "home" that I have now come to cherish. It's so true. Ask any military kid where they are from and they'll do one of three things:
*They'll tell you where they were born (Trey does this. He says he is from Texas--a state that he was born in and actually lived in for exactly 3 1/2 months before we moved to Virginia, and he spent almost the entire time in the NICU. And I cannot tell you how many kids I've taught over the years who say they are from Germany)
*They'll tell you where their parents are from, even if they've never lived there themselves (Tory does this. She frequently tells people she is from Virginia, or sometimes Alabama)
*They'll tell you where they moved from last (Jackson does this. He's from Ft. Campbell, by the way--a place that is super confusing since it actually straddles the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. We lived on the Tennessee side, by the way)
I frequently wonder if Delilah will say she's from Italy, since it's where she's lived for the greatest amount of time. Even now, when we ask her if she's an American or if she's Italian, she always says she's Italian. I blame that on the gelato. And the pizza.
But here's what I've come to realize over 20 years as a military spouse: Home really is where you make it. It doesn't mater in what city, state, or even country that happens to be in. And you build your own history with your military family that you're lucky to know and call your friends. They become your family and in a sense, your history. I'm so thankful to have this opportunity.
Steve and the brats. Yes, the Roman soldier came with the house...
I always wondered where our kids would say was home. My husband is wavering, but he was planning on being a lifer so we've had lots of conversations about our future kids and how we'd deal with raising military brats. You've answered a lot of our questions with this post!
ReplyDeleteThanks friend! I think that being a military kid is such an awesome way to grow up in many ways. I've found that so many of them are so openminded and so much more accepting of others because they know what it's like to be the outsider because they are "the new kid" so often. :)
DeleteMy family has moved a lot--I typically say home is in Malaysia because that's where my family has stayed the longest in one spot. I don't have much identification with my birth state, at all.
ReplyDeleteLove this post! We are a military family with a 2 and 3 year old. No telling what they will say as they get older.
ReplyDeleteI taught next door to my high school English teacher! We learned so much from each other in those two years.
ReplyDeleteI'm off to a party now, but we really should find time for a coffee or a spritz.
D
The lady who I am talking about in this post is one of my FB friends--her name is Brenda Tagge and I here from her often. She also speaks fluent Italian :)
DeleteHello! Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my blog! I am so glad you find it/me and I am so excited to read through your blog.
ReplyDeleteThe pic of your family looks lovely - and the Roman soldier is pretty cool!
Lovely post and I enjoyed how you showed the different responses. But you are so right. Home is where you make it and that's what matters. You could be anywhere in the world but if you weren't happy and didn't have those you love, it would not matter.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way :)
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