A friend posted this on Facebook and I thought I would share it here...
The official flower of the military child is the dandelion.
Why? The plant puts down roots almost anywhere,
and it's almost impossible to destroy.
Why? The plant puts down roots almost anywhere,
and it's almost impossible to destroy.
It's an unpretentious plant, yet attractive.
It's a survivor in a broad range of climates.
It's a survivor in a broad range of climates.
Military children bloom everywhere the
winds carry them.
They are hardy and upright.
Their roots are strong,
cultivated deeply in the culture of the military,
planted swiftly and surely.
They are hardy and upright.
Their roots are strong,
cultivated deeply in the culture of the military,
planted swiftly and surely.
They're ready to fly in the breezes that take them to new adventures, new lands, and new friends.
Experts say that military children are well-rounded, culturally aware,
tolerant, and extremely resilient.
Military children have learned from
an early age that home is where their hearts are,
that a good friend can be found in every corner of the world and in every color,
and that education doesn't only come from school.
that a good friend can be found in every corner of the world and in every color,
and that education doesn't only come from school.
They live history.
They learn
that to survive means to adapt,
that the door that closes one chapter of their life opens up to a new and exciting adventure full of new friends and new experiences.
When we became an active duty military family in 2008, I wondered what the effect would be upon my children. It was hard for me to imagine the life they would live...moving every couple of years...continually changing friends, homes, climates, cultures. How close would they be with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents when visits were separated by miles and long months?
It is an existence foreign to my childhood years. I was surrounded by family. My parents still live in the home we moved into when I was five. My freshman year of college, my roommate was a childhood friend I had known since I was two.
I would not change a moment of my childhood, and while theirs will be completely different, I hope that one day my children will feel the same way. They have amazed me with their resiliency and flexibility. It is not uncommon for my children to begin sentences with, "in our next house.." or to ask "will we still be here next year?" They accept that change is inevitable, and like the poem above states, they have learned to adapt, making friends and memories wherever we go.
that the door that closes one chapter of their life opens up to a new and exciting adventure full of new friends and new experiences.
When we became an active duty military family in 2008, I wondered what the effect would be upon my children. It was hard for me to imagine the life they would live...moving every couple of years...continually changing friends, homes, climates, cultures. How close would they be with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents when visits were separated by miles and long months?
It is an existence foreign to my childhood years. I was surrounded by family. My parents still live in the home we moved into when I was five. My freshman year of college, my roommate was a childhood friend I had known since I was two.
I would not change a moment of my childhood, and while theirs will be completely different, I hope that one day my children will feel the same way. They have amazed me with their resiliency and flexibility. It is not uncommon for my children to begin sentences with, "in our next house.." or to ask "will we still be here next year?" They accept that change is inevitable, and like the poem above states, they have learned to adapt, making friends and memories wherever we go.
